Tip # 1 : One item, one process!
I actually swear that I had written this entry but somehow disappeared from my drafts and scheduled posts. Weird. Anyhow, it’s not a problem. I re-wrote it from scratch.
This technique has proved outstanding. My productivity increases exponentially whenever I stick to this rule. One item, one process. That is, never keep things in your Inbox. Process them as they arrive and deal with them. Either FILE the item, FORWARD the item, DELEGATE the task or ENGAGE in the task.
For example, with my banking – I ALWAYS process ALL the credit card statements and ALL the bills at the same time. I open the statement’s envelope, check the amount I need to pay, and do all the banking in one swift barrage of key strokes. That way, I have peace of mind, knowing that I have dealt with everything related to money, and I’m usually able to file 6-7 bank statements and bills at the same time.
Use this technique with everything. An email to invite you to a work function or a social media event? Not a problem. Answer right there and then. No “oh I will come back to this email when I have the time to check my calendar“. Open up your Google Calendar (or iCal) and schedule (or inform the person who is inviting you that you won’t be able to make it/reschedule/whatever).
In the field of social media, I admit that I’ve been guilty of not following this technique all the time, as I often manage to double-book myself. But whenever I have applied it, it works like a charm. And implementing a “one item, one process” system allows me to check items off my To-Do list faster.
Let me know if these tips work for you, would love to hear your own experiences!
Related posts:
- The sandwich as a budget lunch item
- The planning process and development of Mount Pleasant
- The Top 10 Productivity Tips: A Summary
- The painful process of writing academic book chapters/articles
- Upcoming event – An Overview of the Environmental Petitions Process
But what do you do if you *can’t* deal with an email right away? For example, let’s say someone emails and says, “I need you to email me document X” But you are at the office and document X is on your home computer. How do you deal with that email? You can’t delegate or engage in the task, there’s no one to forward the message to (since it’s you who needs to deal with it) and if you file it, you may forget to email document X when you get home. What’s your process then?
@ Beth – I still have “one process” for that. I make a note to deal with this particular email ASAP and put it at the top of my priority list. That is, at no point are items left w/o attention.
Hi Raul – great trip. This, obviously requires some preparation. If you are unable to handle the process at the time you need to have the infrastructure set up so that you can file, forward, engage or delegate as you have said. How do you set this system up for phone calls, and things that are not in your email folder?
I think for a lot of things your ideas make sense, however I have a differing opinion on banking.
I find it difficult to process all bills all at the same time. They are spread throughout the entire month and if I waited, I’d inevitably miss a due date on one of them. I tend to FIFO everything, as soon as it comes in I immediately make time to process it. (It only takes 4 mins). This is where I think strict behaviors around filing and processing $-related really make sense.
I do follow the one item/one process rule for email and conversations tho. People like to feel like they’re being tended to in a prompt manner.
I totally praise the responding to emails right away, nothing irks me like a week passing and yet still no response to an email I had sent someone.
My email program has a ‘flag’ function which I love and use often – I will deal with whatever emails I can right away and then flag the ones that still require attention or are in-process.
Looking forward to Tip #2!
Ok, you have officially motivated me to pay two bills that I’ve been ignoring for a week. Thanks