The Working Blog
Working Tips, Working Chronicles, Working Confidence
Work related stress is part of the nature of work. Some stress is normal and may reveal areas of process improvement, while others can be self-inflicted. My goal is to eliminate the unnecessary stress and after working on many different kinds of projects, these few reminders have given me back my sanity when I find myself overthinking and overdoing. Don’t keep project apps on your phone if you don’t have to. Unless your contract specifically asks or you have agreed in advance to keep certain apps on your phone for communications, consider using the desktop version of the app versus the phone app. Or, if you do decide to add the app to your phone, make use of the alert settings to turn the alerts off. You can also do similarly with the desktop version by adjusting your alerts to come by email and create a designated time to manually go into that project and check on progress. Don’t hover over a project task. The tendency to obsess over a task can be time consuming and lead to unnecessary stress, especially if you want to cross that item off your project list. The reality is, sometimes there are other key players in the process, and it will require lots of check-ins and reminders. Even when you are right up on a deadline, do your part. When you have done all you can do, let that task go and move on. Don’t leave your availability to a project open ended. Being on a project where there isn’t set hours or the hours you work are more open is great for flexibility, yet it can also leave you feeling like you are “on the clock” at all times. Even with flexibility, it’s still a good idea to establish when you will likely be most available to respond to any questions related to a particular project. Establishing this early on, if the client responds outside of that time, the client will know you’ll respond the next business day when you are available online again. You may find that each project might require you to add some additional boundaries so that you can be the most productive. Whatever the addition is, it's worth your peace of mind and will help you flow through your project so much easier.
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Forgetting to send important details or follow-up can be the difference between a hectic week, spending too much time in your inbox unnecessarily or having a productive flowing week. It's common knowledge that work stress can wreak havoc on your memory. The good news is that Google and Outlook in particular have built into their email feature the ability to schedule emails without having to use a 3rd party. This feature is key to saving you time, keeping all your drafts and responses in one place and also helping you to take control of your work day and week by not having to try and remember all the little details. I schedule these 4 types of emails on a regular basis so that I can spend more time outside of my inbox and more time working on the more important things of the day. These ideas are very helpful disciplines to develop and can easily be tasked to a virtual assistant when you are ready to pursue one. 1. Schedule email follow-ups before and after meetings. Many meetings are recurring and this is the optimal time to go ahead and schedule as far in advance as you can those reminder emails and follow-up emails, allowing you to focus more on the actual meeting than all the follow-ups you have to make. Saving these emails as templates and drafts that can be modified later saves you time so that you no longer have to create your email content from scratch. 2. Schedule emails to discuss ideas and solutions or questions. This is one of my top ideas because it doesn't matter what time late at night the idea comes, you can have it hit the inbox of your intended recipient at a time where they will be most likely to receive it, view it and respond. I have even left notes that informed the recipient this is a scheduled email and that I would be online at a certain time to be available to chat more about it. It gives the recipient an option to respond now or catch you as soon as you are online. 3. Schedule emails check-ins with colleagues. Sometimes a quick follow-up that says “hello” and “checking in to see how things are going” and if there is anything they may need your assistance with, goes a long way. We all get busy and scheduling your check-ins will help you stay connected and build a team trust with your colleagues. 4. Schedule yourself emails as reminders/to-do’s Many of us take action better from our inbox versus using a running online or on paper task list. If it's a task that really needs your attention, schedule it to come to you as an email reminder instead. Take time to put enough detail in the body of the email to take the action you need to take with the task. Additional Helpful Tips! Set up your “out of office” for timeframes that you will be away or working offline. Google and Outlook and even Yahoo have an out of office auto-responder that can be set when you need it. Sometimes you will need to block your time or days to focus on deadlines or simply out of the office for an appointment, on vacation. Setting up an auto-responder can help redirect and give the respondent alternatives to getting what they may need. You can indicate that you are in the office but working within a time block that are simply unavailable and give them instructions who to contact in cases of urgency. Change your subject line! As the subject matter shifts in email dialog, shift the subject line to reflect the new topic. It is quite common that conversations by email shift and change as the conversation keep going. New ideas, solutions and answers come and can easily get lost. By changing the subject line to continue the conversation, this makes referring back to that specific subject in the conversation much easier when you need to search for it as a reminder! Declutter your inbox at least every year! If your inbox has too much old clutter, making it difficult to focus on what’s most relevant, here is a post I created on how to bring back order to your inbox. I suggest at least every year doing this for your sanity! If you can manage 2 times a year, that would be ideal. You don't need and extra bedroom to have a functional office and workspace! Whether your office is separate from the rest of your home or created in some other space that is shared, these tips and ideas will help you maintain order, productivity and creativity when working.
Finding the right placement and position for your dual space office.
The goal is to be able to create an inviting space to nurture you during your work time. If it doesn't FEEL inviting, you're less likely to want to work there! Inspiring Décor ideas
Ideas to help your desktop stay clear and in order.
Before & during your work time.
A Few Admin Tips:
Take time and play around with adding new things in or out of your workspace. Rearrange as often as you need to but give yourself a chance to get used to working in your space before you make any additional or abrupt changes. Creating your office space allows your creative mind to soar, but it can also be addicting! Decide that what you have is enough and get to work! |
AuthorNherie is a creative freelancer who enjoys creativity, teaching & writing about best administrative or business practices and virtual assisting. Archives
January 2022
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