#1. Don’t Schedule Back-to-Back Appointments. Besides making your life unnecessarily difficult, just getting from place to place, this habit also totally squelches creativity because you’re mentally probably already worrying about the next place you need to be, instead of focusing on where you are. Leave a healthy gap between events so you can breath, power down and get from A to B without breaking your neck (or your stride).
#2. Plan Your Day. Spend a few minutes every morning to plan your day. This will easily prevent complications and stress. Look at your deadlines and take stock of what MUST be done to hit them, vs. what can be delayed until the deadline is met successfully. A planned day is way more efficient than making it up as you go along and spending lost time on things that could wait until later (or better yet, be delegated to someone else on your team).
#3. Be Realistic. If you see that your deadline is approaching and you’re not realistically going to hit it without going bonkers, ask yourself honestly, Can it be moved? If NOT, then cancel everything possible between here and there, shut off the phone and STOP email completely. You can do it – and the world won’t stop revolving if you unplug for a while.
Yours Truly, Stephen Dodd
Creator of OfficeTime.net