Category: Productivity

• Have how much you’re worth in your head, then you can make wiser financial decisions.
• Who is your boss?
• Specifics are better than platitudes.
• Time management is a systemic problem. If you’re not going to have fun, why do it? Stress is a product of bad time management.
• The typical office worker wastes two hours a day.
• This thing I am doing, why am I doing it? What would happen if I don’t do it? It doesn’t matter about doing things right: “80% of the value with 20% of the work.”
• You can’t fake experience. There is a lot of hard work to do things.
• Plan each day, each week, each semester.
• “To do lists” work because there are small steps.
• Being a boss means growing your people. Do the ugly things first to gain respect from your subordinates.

	Due soon	Not due soon
Important	1	2
Not important	3	4

• It is about solving problems before they become apparent.
• It’s crucial to have a clean desk, also to touch a piece of paper once. Sort email by importance and keep it clean.
• A filing system should be alphabetical.
• Multiple monitors are important and very cheap.
• Clear the inbox. Buy a mouse. Have a calendar to free up space. One item on the desk. Speaker phone.
• Stand up with a telephone and list goals. “Hello this is David. I called because I have these things to tell you…”
• Call people right before lunch or right before the end of the day, so they want to do something else.

Useful Things for the Office

1. Headset
2. Kleenex
3. Thank you notes
4. Recycling box
5. Post-it notes
6. Phonebook
7. A view that allows one to know they are supposed to be having fun

• Everyone has to find their own system.
• Have the office comfortable for yourself, and optionally comfortable for others. Keep some plastic chairs or stand to meet someone.
• Opportunity cost means getting the most.
• People rationalize their procrastination. The problem is the time used is expensive and risky. After getting into your comfort zone, figure out, “Why did I procrastinate?” There is often a deep psychological reason and the solution is often just to ask.
• Most people treat delegation as dumping. The first step is to delegate with full authority giving them the whole package. Do the dirtiest job yourself. Treat your people well because staff and secretary are your life line. You cannot be vague when giving directions and give a reward. Challenge them. Keep record and have good communication.
• Don’t do it yourself all the time. Tell what you want done. Tell the relative importance of each task.
• Beware passive delegation, i.e. “Putting your hands behind your back and waiting.”
• Use reinforced behavior. Praise when something is done well. Don’t learn how to do it if you don’t need it.
• Have meetings with a clear agenda. Don’t have meetings where people are half there. One minute meetings: “What got done? What needs to be done?”
• “Computers are faster, but they take longer.” Use technology that is useful and helps you. Use technology to do things in a new way if it changes the workload.
• Don’t ever delete email. Every piece of email is searchable. If you want to get something done send it to one person and cc their boss. If a person has not responded in 48 hours, nag them.
• When is the next meeting? Who can I turn to? What needs to get done? Write things down.
• When on vacation, notify people to call back or refer to this person.
• Kill your television. The average American watches 28 hours a week.
• Throw money at the problem when you have no time.
• Eat, sleep, and exercise, because everything falls apart if you don’t.
• Don’t break promises.
• Good enough means good enough.
• Feedback loops are very useful.
• Buy a PDA and make a to-do list.

9/19/08