My seven most hard-earned mistakes regarding structure

2010-01-07, 09:20

Hand on heart, also a struktör makes structural blunders sometimes. And, it's from the mistakes you learn.

Here are my seven most hard-earned mistakes in the area of structure and personal productivity. Do not let these blunders happen to you.

1. I have let a whole week pass before I summarized meetings I have had (because it "has been so intense").
   Consequence : Material I promised to send were sent much later than I intended.
   
   
2. I have let the portable inbasket in my briefcase become really full before I have emptied it and processed everything, instead of doing it immediately when I come back to the office.
   Consequence 1: Once I go through the stuff in the inbasket, it's a labourious task that tends to be procrastinated.
   Consequence 2: Critical notes are hidden in the bunch and show up only when I empty the inbasket. Then it may be high time to do the task they represent.
   
   
3. I have failed to be extra cautious when I have switched from one phone to another, and when syncing the new one with Outlook still does not work correctly. That is, I have scheduled a meeting in the calendar in the new phone, which I have not synced with my main calendar.
   Consequence: I have missed a sales meeting (I'm sorry, Irene). That makes certainly not a good first impression if you are a struktör.
   
   
4. I have allowed myself to become so immersed in delivering a material before deadline that I have put my morning routine to the side and missed to check today's calendar.
   Consequence: I have missed a meeting with a client (please forgive me, Kerstin) and discovered it only after the deadline for the material to deliver. I don't want that to ever happen again. Imagine how thorough I am with checking the calendar nowadays.
   
   
5. I have been asked to fix something and thought "Well, what we just agreed on, I will remember. I do not have to write it up."
   Consequence: Of course I forgot, because I trusted that I was done when the to-do list tasks for the day was checked off.
   
   
6. I have postponed trivial things to do until later, although I just as easily could have done them right now.
   Consequence: Later, I have too much on my hands, when instead I could be free of these trivialities (which is now becoming urgent).
   
   
7. I have kept e-mails in my mailbox instead of creating to-do items from them and then delete them.
   Consequence: I have unconsciously begun to think of my mailbox as today's to-do list, which meant that I "forgot" my real list. I thought that I was "done" when the mailbox was empty, but you know what? - On the to-do list, there were five or ten things that needed to be ready that same day.

Instead, do like this

Then, what should you do instead of what I did in the examples above? Well, can't we agree on the following precepts:

• Empty your physical inbox every day (including your portable inbasket, if you have one of those in your bag).
• Print your calendar, to-do list and important contacts when you change your phone or computer into a new one, so you have them readily available on paper even if the technology causes trouble.
• Stick to your routines and structure of your tools, even if it is a more intensive period. Stress does not make work easier.
• What you can do when you have some spare time, do it then. (If you need to rest, you have no time to spare.)
• Have one and only one to-do list. Create tasks from mail you do not answer right away.

Whatever you do, do not follow my example when it comes to the mistakes above.

How about you?

What is your greatest structural mistakes? Please leave a comment below and share your worst experience regarding structure and productivity. Your mistakes will inspire me to write new tips on structure, so I'm very grateful.

Posted in ”E-mail” ”Meetings” ”To-do-lists” | 1 comment

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