Sassy Summer Sippers - Triangle Performance

INSIDE: LOCAL WOMEN IN BUSINESS
North Dallas Edition | JUNE 2011
Your Best Summer EVER!
COOL DOWN AND
RELAX WITH OUR
Sassy Summer Sippers
Outdoor
Kitchens
that Make
Us Say
WOW!
PLUS:
Top Men's Health Myths: Fact or Fiction
Quick Ways
TO WORK
SMARTER
Relationships
WORK SMARTER
NOT HARDER
By LaRue Novick
J
ack Nicholson may have said it best in the Stephen King thriller The
Shining: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” And while
we’re not all hallucinating psychopaths sequestered in an eerie hotel in
the middle of a snowstorm, sometimes we may feel a little loony from
being buried under endless tasks in our work-until-you-drop culture.
And make
time to
play this
summer
In case you need the reminder: stress is a killer. Plus, the more stressed
and overworked you are, the more likely you are to get burned out and
make mistakes, which does no one any good.
So, as summer opens its warm, welcoming arms, there’s no time like the
present to learn ways to work smarter not harder so you can get out,
drink in the sunshine and relax without pressing workloads turning you
into a very dull and rather unhappy boy (or girl).
Aside from prioritizing your tasks and implementing successful time management,
the experts offer tips on how to get more out of your workday, so you can still find
time to play:
Go ugly, early.
“Pick the biggest, baddest task on your list (you DO have a list, right?), and knock it out first,”
suggested Kevin Berchelmann, a leadership expert and consultant specializing in human capital and
corporate strategy in Houston. “Ignore the pain. Bodybuilders tell us ‘no pain, no gain,’ and it applies to
work priorities as well.”
Clear the clutter.
A cluttered desk hinders productivity, warned
Schulte. “We often become immune to our piles and
other objects, so take a good look at your desk and
determine if any items can be removed,” she said.
Take extra office supplies back to the supply closet.
Limit personal items to a manageable number. Let your
workspace work for you! Got lists? Speaking of lists, make sure you have at
least two, Berchelmann saed. “One for ‘all
things I must do sometime,’ and one for
today. And make the one for today actually
do-able.” You are infinitely better off
mentally to complete four out of four tasks
than to only complete four of 20. Only book essential
and effective meetings.
“We waste so much time in meetings,” said Tania Venn,
a spokesperson for Junktion, the corporate offices of
1-800-GOT-JUNK? “Always think: Is this something
that must have a discussion or can it be settled/
decided or taken to the next step without the face-toface?” Ensure the meetings you set have an agenda
and are closed with clear action items to
improve efficiency.
Other noteworthy
tips include:
16
LIVING | LivingMagazine.net
Success, not perfection. “Perfection is great if you’re doing brain
surgery,” Berchelmann said. “For the
rest of us, it’s an added level of effort
we can’t afford.” Tasks should be done
successfully, not perfectly. So don’t
waste half your day on rewrites, trivial
edits or consternations about what you
could do better.
Work on. One. Task.
At. A. Time.
Do you often start working on one thing
then jump to something else before
the first item is completed? This is a
common issue but a little bit of discipline
can help you get focused. Keep only
the item you are working on in front of
you and stay focused on that item until
you are done, suggested PRISM’s chief
operating officer Jane Schulte, author of
WORK SMART, Not Hard! Organizational
Tips & Tools That Will Change Your
Life. “It is too easy to get distracted
when we have several items in front
of us.”
“In reality, prioritization and successful
time management are mostly about
discipline,” Berchelmann said. “Decide
you’re going to do it, set a time frame
for it, and ‘git-r-done.’”
Setting realistic limits or boundaries with your boss and communicating with care
(to avoid back-pedaling or inadvertent, time-absorbing tension), said Lynn Taylor,
author of Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant.