So you do it. And instantly, you’re working. Even though it’s 10 PM. On Saturday.

Seriously. Does this sound like you? If so, it’s because you (and I) need to set email answering hours and actually keep them. Not just working hours. Email “answering” hours. Because more often than not, if you answer your email, you’re working. Even just thinking about a client request can technically be classified as working.

In the B2B world, setting email answering hours and informing your client of them should not set off any alarms. In fact, chances are that your client either already has established this practice or deep down, really wants to, so it won’t be a shocker.

So give yourself a break and get organized. Say, yes, I work at home (or on the road with my Blackberry or whatever), but, I answer client email from X AM to Y PM and stick to that. Say to your client, if it’s urgent, give me a call. That way, you’re still accessible in case of an emergency, but you’ve got work boundaries that you would probably have if you worked in an office away from your home, right?

I have a client that actually has an auto-responder that informs you of his email answering hours. I don’t need to adopt that method, but his principle is right on. In order to stay organized and manage your time more effectively, not to mention keeping your sanity, do yourself a favor and set some email hours and stick to them. Do this for two weeks and if it doesn’t work and you don’t feel better, come back and say I told you so!

–Tia

© 2008 – 2009, Tia Peterson. All rights reserved. This text may be reproduced with permission. Please contact tia@tiadpeterson.com to request permission to reuse this content. Thank you!

I was drafting a status e-mail to one of my clients tonight, and it was amazing the clarity that came as a result of it. When I sit down to write a to-do list, it always fills up with junk! When I sit down to write a status email – lo and behold…a to-do list! Really. I suddenly had my to-do list (or a portion of it) and it came so much more easily to mind than it would have if I had said to myself “Self, let’s come up with a to-do list.”

So here’s my advice. Draft status memos for each of your clients (even if they haven’t asked for one). As you’re drafting the status, categorize it by completed, and to-do (this week) and to-do (next week – or just skip next week. One week at a time!). You’ll discover, if you’re like me and you have a lot of work, that as you’re typing up your ‘completed’ section, all of your ‘to-do’ tasks become very obvious. Write those under the to-do section and sub-categorize them by day. Then, put all of your to-do tasks from all of your clients in a list.

Tada! To-do list magic. AND status memo magic. Status memos are extremely helpful even when they aren’t requested. For one thing, they help you see how much work you’re actually doing for your client! Two, they show you how you’ve spent your time (most of my time today was spent working stuff out with the baby). Three, they put your work right in your face so you have a better understanding of your workload so that you can say “yes” or “no” with confidence to future requests.

Cheers! Enjoy making your status memos!

© 2008 – 2009, Tia Peterson. All rights reserved. This text may be reproduced with permission. Please contact tia@tiadpeterson.com to request permission to reuse this content. Thank you!

But at the end of the day, whatever time that may be for you, you notice a crunch. Suddenly (yes, suddenly) there is so much to do!! And what’s worse is that you have this mentality (or it could just be reality) that you’ve got to get it all done NOW.

I know the feeling quite well. I had the feeling when I didn’t work from home and I still have the feeling now, while working from home. For some reason, whenever you’ve got something else to do other than work, the work just seems to pile on you, right?

WRONG. This is a classic case of poor time management. This is going into your day with the idea that you’re just going to attack things as they come, rather than being purposeful about your activities. I do this all the time (which is why I’m such an expert on this) and I really struggle to find new ways to make better use of my time.

I’m going to suggest a few things that seem to really help me when I get into this poor time management, end of day crunch rut. Following these does not guarantee that you will never slip into the rut again, but, they just may help you get that extra bit of time you need to finish that very lucrative project you’ve started or the proposal for that very active client that you would like to keep.

1. Assign dates AND times to your to-do list. That’s right. Get serious! Give yourself not only a date deadline but a time deadline. Your list, which should be either on paper or on a whiteboard or chalkboard (Outlook to-do lists only work if you are literally glued to your chair with Superglue and also have some weird eye problem that prohibits you from looking anywhere other than at the computer screen), should contain a very detailed description of each to-do item, and it must include that time deadline. That’s the clincher. You may not make the time deadline or you may change it several times, but it is still effective because just looking at the time deadline and feeling that it is approaching will either make you sick enough to just do it and get it over with, or will make you reconsider your list. Either result is good.
2. Don’t check email first thing. Really, don’t. In fact, one client of mine checks his email at only one, openly communicated hour of the day, 2 PM. He doesn’t even check his email at any other time of day. His excuse is distraction, and he’s right. Most of the time, email is simply a distraction. Most of the time, your to-do list is crowded enough with things that have nothing to do with email at all. The biggest problem with checking your email first thing in the morning is that you will inevitably become consumed with dealing with something that is not a priority, or that was not a priority until you read the email about it. Frankly, immediately dealing with emails as they come through your inbox prohibits you from dealing with things that have been on your to-do list that may actually be more important. Check your email later. It won’t kill you. I promise.
3. Avoid eating at your desk. This one is interesting but if you try it, you may see it make a difference in your time management. Listen, your desk is for working. It is not a dining room table or a lunch room table or a break room. Remind yourself that when you sit down you are sitting down to work, not eat. When you eat, your mind wanders and you feel like you should be thinking about and doing something other than working. Additionally, when you eat at your desk, you eat more slowly than you would if you were at the lunch table or in the break room. Thus, the issues with eating at your desk. Instead, if you are hungry and need to take a meal break, eat the meal in the break room, or outside on a picnic table, or even in your car. Just don’t eat at your desk.
4. FINISH items of high priority before starting ones of low priority. If possible, try finishing an item prior to starting another one anyway. I know this can be impossible especially if you work in a “hurry up and wait” environment like I did for years. Still, try to get into the habit of seeing the task through to completion. This really does help avoid the end of day time crunch, because rather than starting things off very slowly in the morning and then coming back to them later on in the day, you finish off a single task in one go. This boosts confidence, makes you proud, and checks an item off your list.
5. Be realistic about what you can accomplish in one day. This is the last helpful tip but not the least in any way. In fact, it’s the most important. You have got to be realistic about what you can do in one day. However long your work day is – eight, ten, twelve hours, whatever – make sure that the tasks you’ve alloted for that day will fit. Try it out for a week, and if you find yourself just not able to complete things on time, change it up.

Most importantly, try to reverse your end of day time crunch by creating a morning time crunch. Why? Because at the end of the day you need to be DONE with your job so that you can enjoy your life. That’s why you have a job anyway – to enjoy your life. So, if you flip the time crunch issue onto its head and have a morning time crunch, you can spend the end of the workday winding down, sipping refreshing water and thinking about all of the things you’re going to do when your workday ends. Getting into a routine like this will do wonders for your mind and heart, stress management skills and make you feel better about your work!

© 2008 – 2009, Tia Peterson. All rights reserved. This text may be reproduced with permission. Please contact tia@tiadpeterson.com to request permission to reuse this content. Thank you!