General Business

I spend a lot of my time on self-care. When you find yourself working 18 hour days in short bursts to finish projects or cover in times of crisis, you have to focus on yourself…or believe me your body will force you to at some point.

Has your body just ever knocked you flat?  Two days later, and you are back working an 18 hour day. Chances are you are the only one to notice.

Your work product can suffer, too. Just because you are struggling to cover the most basic things during times of crisis, the things you let slip are getting stuck in someone’s craw.  You may find yourself in crisis mode, but developing a reputation of not “following through” in someone’s eyes.

It is important to communicate to management when you are in crisis mode. Don’t just assume they see the bags under your eyes and the fact you’ve sent emails at 2 a.m. to understand all that is going on. Ask for help. Ask for the patience of management and expect them to rally around you and support you whenever possible. Can they spare some help? Is there work you can offload? Can someone’s schedule be adjusted to cover things you can’t?

If you send up a flare, you should expect to see people come together in response. If you send up a flare and find yourself still sitting alone in a life raft, then perhaps it’s time for you to start rowing toward an exit.

I’m continuing with the book, “How Did I Get So Busy?” and today’s lesson really hit home for me. My constant running around, trying too talk to three people at once and reply to emails and think about the meeting I’m running late for is causing me to miss a few details that mean I have to spend even more time later cleaning up the mess.

I spent the day walking slower, talking slower and actually stopping to think before I answered a question. It was liberating. Almost as liberating as saying, “no,” which is becoming my new favorite word.

I think many of us have experienced the pitfalls of being in a rush. I know that for me, I’ve run like a flash down the hall only to get where I was going and have no idea why I’d run there in the first place. I used to just attribute this to me being scatterbrained. But, in reality, I’m not scatterbrained…I was just too busy! I was trying to do to many things at once and no one can do survive long term by running at full speed all the time.

Today was a great day. I smiled at people on the street and even had a conversation with a complete stranger. It sure was nice to not hurry! Oh, and the best part? I got so much done today I actually left the office 20 minutes early.

I saw this question on LinkedIn and thought it fit nicely with what I’d written before, so I thought I’d expand on those thoughts.
Email Hours: Like Working Hours, How about Email Hours?

Email Hours: Everyone of us receive emails ranging from 25-100 a day and some emails take a lot of time to read, digest, respond, clarification, etc. From my experience if someone talks to a person in-person the number of emails can be shortened so how about this idea of companies implementing EMAIL HOURS or NO EMAIL HOURS. What do you think?
My answer:
I’m not sure we could institute email hours, but I would suggest using some guidelines to address the inefficiency of email in general. To sit in front of your email all day or jump all over your Blackberry is a drain. I tell people now that email is the most inefficient way to communicate with me. See me in person or call me. I am not always available, that’s just a fact of my busy schedule.

You have to train people that just because they don’t get an answer in five minutes they don’t need to send another email or call you or walk down the hall because not everything is urgent, but in this world people think everything is immediate.

As for the person that responded, what if you miss an important email?! Well, if it is really important, someone will find you…if someone is waiting on a decision and can’t take action because I didn’t reply to their email then they should be fired. Call me or have my assistant find me if the building is on fire and I’m the only one with the fire extinguisher.

Here are more of my requirements regarding email and Blackberries:
Do not check your email while we are in a meeting. I need your attention or I wouldn’t have requested your time. Focus!
Do clean out your email box. The clutter can be overwhelming.

Email was once an amazing tool and the best way to communicate with me. But, not anymore. I have become swamped with emails and found myself sitting at my desk staring at MS Outlook just waiting on emails so I could reply to them in hopes I could keep that “unread messages” number under control. I realize now that I cannot keep that number under control and tell those that work with me daily that email is no longer the best way to communicate with me.

I’m back to the good ol’ in-person or phone contact. I currently have 879 unread messages in my inbox and even after I go through and cull out the spam and FYI emails, I’m still at an unreasonable number. Here are a few tips to keeping yourself productive in the face of email overload.

1. Delete emails immediately if they are FYI or require no action. If they require action by someone else, forward them or delete them.
2. Avoid using “reply-all” as it just creates a chain of reply-alls when a phone conversation would work much better.
3. Set aside a specific time of the day to read and reply to emails. Turn off the audio notification of new emails so you won’t feel obligated to immediately read and reply to emails as they come in.
4. Don’t send emails. I don’t send an email unless it is absolutely required. If I don’t send you an email you have nothing to reply to me about.
5. Tell people to not send you emails. This is a great way to reduce those incoming emails and lets people know that email is unproductive.  Force people to communicate with you face to face or over the phone. I actually tell people to text me on my phone if something is urgent. I always pay attention to a text.

Being productive and improving your efficiency at work is something you have much more control over than you think.  Find out what works for you and implement and communicate so others will see how best to work with you. You’ll get a lot more done if you get out from under the thumb of email overload.

Holiday parties are a staple this time of year. The calendar gets booked every weekend with events, from entertaining clients, staff, the company party and obligations to friends and family, this time of year can be exhausting.

When mixing the holiday with professional events, it is important to remember a few tips to avoid regret and over-commitments.

A lot of clients expect a token this time of year and while some companies forbid gifts from vendors or business partners, most will allow a lunch or dinner. I try to schedule lunches with my business associates during the season. This keeps my evenings clear and allows me to work in some end of the year business conversations during the middle of a work day.

As the company party rolls around, I make sure my calendar is clear. As a member of the management team it is important that I attend. The party gives me an opportunity to meet staff and their significant other and thank them personally for their work this year. The front-line employees appreciate a good word on how valuable they are to a company in front of others. Don’t be stingy with the positive reinforcement.

Probably the most important piece of advice for holiday parties I can ever give is: It is not a party with friends. Don’t overdo it. While a cocktail can help loosen you up to mingle and spread the holiday cheer, one too many can create a controversy that can destroy your career.

I have been to company parties where the corporate attorney danced on top of a table and unbuckled his pants before someone grabbed him and pulled him down. By early January he was no longer with the company. I’ve seen couples get in fights after they had too much to drink. Inevitably, someone gets just drunk enough to tell the boss what they really think of him/her.

All of the above are examples of what can go wrong when you forget that a company holiday party is a company event, and not really a social occasion.

My father taught me a wonderful trick when mixing business with alcohol. I have one cocktail and then sneak back to the bartender and give him a large tip. I tell him that when I ask for another drink, put it in a cocktail glass with a stirrer but to not add any alcohol. This way while others are continuing to drink, I am remaining sober and continuing to portray my company and my brand in an appropriate manner.

Remember, it is possible to have engaging conversation and an enjoyable event without alcohol. It is also nice to not have to explain what you were doing in the corner with someone’s young assistant.