Tips On Handling E Mail

One research firm has estimated that in approximately 5 years, 41% of an employee's time will be spent reading and responding to e mail. To me, that's scary!

In it's October 5 edition, USA Today had a great article entitled Fridays go from casual to e-mail-free. Marsha Egan, an executive coach gives some superb advice on taming that inbox. Among her suggestions:

• Don't use e mail to avoid unpleasant tasks. Talk to people face to face whenever possible.
• Don't constantly check for new messages.
• Respond to important messages first-even if they're difficult.

One of the most telling comments by Egan was that when you check e-mail, it can take up to 4 minutes to refocus. Multiply that by the number of times you check it per day, and you have wasted alot of time in your lineup that could have been used for a much better act-or even an intermission.

Juggling Elephants Takes The Challenge

800ceoread asks its readers about a challenge they are facing in the workplace and then offers insights from a business book that they believe has a viable solution. Today (September 17) they use Juggling Elephants to solve a workplace challenge. Click the link to read more:

http://800ceoread.com/blog/

Leader of Wikipedia Has His "Acts" Together

In an article entitled "The Knowledge Maestro", (Fortune, September 17) Jimmy "Jimbo" Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, is asked about how he best works with others. One of his most striking comments to me was,

If you have the right people, and you're organizing things sensibly, there shouldn't be a lot of telling people what to do.

That's a great affirmation of the need to have the right "performers" in your circus and for creating a lineup that keeps everyone focused on the right tasks-including you.

Summer-The Intermission

In today's WSJ (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118912967608820227.html?mod=todays_us_nonsub_weekendjournal), there was a follow up article to one in June where they asked people how they planned to spend their Summer Vacation. The article chronicled how well they had done in meeting their goals.

The article mirrored the way many people look at taking a break or an "intermission." Some do things to plan for the "next half" of their performance, they mentally or physically rest or they reflect on how their circus is going. When the intermission is over, they are more focused and better prepared for what's in their lineup.

Others just keep the acts going, and often wonder why their performance rarely improves.

Another Ringmaster Accepts Their Top Hat

Last week I was working with a statewide education group in Ohio. Prior to my training session, I was privileged to attend their annual awards session. One individual received several honors and I admired her commitment to the profession. "She really has her act together," I surmised.

Later that day I was surprised to see her arrive at my workshop. "What a pleasant surprise," I said. "Congratulations on your awards. What brings you here?" Her response was quite telling. "Oh I need to learn how to get other things done besides work." Bravo!

Another Ringmaster steps in the ring. She knew that while she had quality acts going on in her work ring, she needed to work on the acts in other areas of her life. I'm sure she will be getting standing ovations in those other areas soon.