Taking Inventory of Your Time

Take a notepad and spend a few days describing in detail where your time goes. After a few days, review it. How much time do you spend procrastinating? How many interruptions do you have? Are there things you shouldn't have been doing at all, things you should have delegated, or things you should have simply said "no" to?

Are you going out to run errands twice in one day when they can be consolidated into one trip? Could you get all your paperwork out of the way at once? Can you set aside a morning to take care of client calls?

Highlight anything on your log that was a waste of time, even a meeting with your boss or a phone call to a friend. How can you get these time-wasters out of your day?

Procrastination busters

For most people, procrastination isn't a result of laziness or lack of resolve. Procrastination can be a deep psychological situation involving fear of failure or success, or a natural result of overload. Sometimes you simply don't know where to start.

Consider whether you tend to do better when working with other people or relying on yourself. Then choose your technique.

Involving other people

There are four ways that you can call on other people to help you do what you ought to be doing. Choose one or as many as it takes.

• Be accountable: Tell someone what you're going to do and by when to build accountability. At home, tell your buddy the garage will be clean by Sunday night and invite him to stop by around 5 p.m. on Sunday to inspect your handiwork. Fill your office mate in on your plan to finish project XYZ, and tell your mother about your vow to start saving $200 a month.

• Barter: If you procrastinate because you don't like or know your task very well, swap jobs with someone. If you can type like the wind but don't understand spreadsheet formulas, tell the local spreadsheet whiz that you'll type a report for her if she'll handle your spreadsheet.

• Collaborate: Working with someone else creates a shared commitment and two minds or pairs of hands.

• Delegate: Supervisors should delegate tasks to staff so that employees can grow in their jobs. Parents can teach children household jobs that help them learn responsibility.

Doing it yourself

If you prefer to lean on yourself to beat the procrastination trap, there are plenty of solo ways to jump-start your motor.

• Jump in!: Just like jumping into the pool, the faster you get in, the faster you get used to the water. So jump to it.

• Take it step by step: If you're among those of us who just can't jump, remember that any project can be achieved one step at a time. Take a small step today.

• Choose your starting point: You don't always have to start at the beginning. If you want to start a project on page three, start on page three. If you plan a holiday dinner and you'd rather design the menu before you decide on the guest list, that's fine.

• Race the clock: Deadlines drive achievement, so give yourself one.

• Tie yourself down: As a last resort, tell yourself you can't go to the movies, watch TV, or even get a cup of coffee until you write that report or paint that room. Pretend there's a real rope holding you there and you literally can't leave until you do what you have to do.

Interruption busters: Phone calls and visitors

You finally get going on your project and what happens? Interruptions. Even if you stop an interruption in progress, you still need to refocus, so prevent uninvited disturbances before they begin.

The simplest way to stop telephone interruptions is simple — don't pick it up. Visitors may not be as common an interruption as the telephone, but a real live person can be more compelling and more of a problem.

Strategies for work

Diplomacy is key when carving out quiet time at work. Just remember that at the end of the day, your staff, colleagues, and superiors will respect you more for getting your job done than for being always available.

• Screen. Have someone greet your visitors and tell the unexpected ones that you're in a meeting.

• Close. A closed door is a clear signal to all those who pass that you're busy. For those who still knock, open the door partway only and ask them to come back at a specific time.

• Stand. If you don't have a door or closing it isn't appropriate, greet incoming visitors by standing up. Most people won't sit down if you stand.

• Walk. If you're on your feet but your guest reclines in your favorite chair anyway, suggest that you chat while walking back to your visitor's desk or say that you have somewhere to go. Then do go, preferably to the restroom, where only the most intrepid will tag along.

• Hide. Who says you have to work where people can find you? Go to a conference room, an empty office, or offsite library.

• Sign. Put up a sign on your door or cubicle wall that says, "Do Not Disturb — Important Project."

• Postpone. For hard cases, schedule an appointment to talk about an issue later, or a lunch to catch up on the social front.^tabmark

Strategies for home-based businesses

When you work at home, visitor interruptions all too often come from people you love. That doesn't mean you have to let your workflow go down the drain.

• Business hours. Inform family members of your work schedule (9 to 5 for most) and ask that they only disturb you for very important matters or emergencies.

• Signs. Put a sign on the door during important or peak times that says "Quiet, Do Not Disturb."

• Outsource meetings. Hosting a meeting at home can be less than professional and cause you to spend hours cleaning up. Instead, arrange to meet clients or customers at their office or choose a mutually convenient coffeehouse.

• No-pet policy. Much as you may love them, corral pets away from your office so barking dogs or mewing cats don't interrupt your concentration.

• Nobody's home. Don't answer the door during working hours unless you're waiting for a special delivery. Use a peephole if you need to know.

Strategies for home

Just because you're home doesn't mean you're available. Remember the value of your time when visitors knock, and don't spend your time on just anyone.

• Check the identity of unexpected visitors and don't answer to those you don't know.

• Don't waste time talking to salespeople when you have no intention of buying something from them. Politely say "No" and let them go ring someone else's door or phone.

• If you're doing something that can't be interrupted, just let the doorbell ring. No one has to know you're home unless you're expecting something. How often does necessary news arrive at your door?