Schedule Half Days for Fire-Fighting at Work

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Jonathan Krug of Columbus, Ohio, a logical thinker who is happiest when the world is orderly, wrote the following to me: “Being an engineer in a manufacturing facility, no two days are the same. It is rare that a project or task is completed without numerous interruptions or ‘fires’ to put out; and since the production floor is really where a company makes money, the interruptions are important and in most cases must be addressed immediately. All this can be very frustrating when attempting to complete a project. To deal with this dilemma I have found a way to maintain my sanity and complete projects on time.

“When scheduling my day, I allot a half day to projects and the other half day to ‘fire fighting.’ It’s simple and it really works. If one day is heavily loaded with ‘fire fighting,’ the next is generally slower and more time can be given to projects. The secret is to constantly prioritize and adjust to the demands placed upon your time. This allows your mind to remain focused. When you are focused and know what has to be done you can relax and reduce your stress level because you are in control of your workload. Most importantly, always, always, always communicate to your customers (internal or external) any changes in previously approved plans.”

Thanks, Jonathan, for that very smart advice. I’d rather learn what works for you than have to re-invent time management for myself!

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 15th, 2006 at 5:30 am and is filed under Podcast. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Schedule Half Days for Fire-Fighting at Work

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