Season’s Workload Put You In Scrooge Mood? Lighten Up

The most wonderful time of the year, or the most hectic? If jingle bells inspire panic, try these get-it-done tips:

• Find time. Workers have more spare minutes than they realize, according to a survey commissioned by office supplier Fellowes.


• Respondents reported "they waste two hours a day on disruptions and inefficiencies," said Laura Stack, author of "Execution IS the Strategy."


• Clam up. Stack's firm, Productivity Pro, conducts time management workshops for harried executives. A time Grinch that she cautions about is the conversational black hole. Of survey respondents, "53% said chatty co-workers disrupt their day," she told IBD.


• Know when to walk away from the water cooler.


• Shrink it. Plan shorter meetings. "It's amazing how time expands. If you schedule an hour, it takes an hour," Stack said.


• Try 30 minutes, and see if you can squeeze it all in.


• Shift. "We get in a productivity rut," said Stack.


• Try changing your normal routine. Instead of starting the day with email and social media, spend your first hour on urgent projects.


• Rise and shine. Mornings are more productive than afternoons, according to survey results.


• "Get in there and dive right in on your hardest task," Stack said. "It feels good to get something big knocked off your plate."


• Think speed. Nearly a third of office workers say that problems with office equipment drain minutes from their days. "Anytime you're thinking, 'Gosh, this is taking too long,'" figure out why, says Stack.


• Maybe a process needs tweaking, or an upgrade would add speed.


• Cut static. "I put my phone on airplane mode while I'm working," Stack said. It stops attention-shattering interruptions. "You have to be smart when you use these smart technologies."
   
• Increase discipline. Work at work. "People are tempted to do online shopping," Stack said. To keep personal and professional separate, limit perusing e-commerce sites to lunchtime and breaks.
   
• Avoid negativity. Grumbling about feeling frenzied this season won't help.


• "The most powerful way to deal with complaints is to turn them into requests," said Josselyne Herman-Saccio, a communication expert with training and employee development firm Landmark. Whining is wheel spinning. Making a request means taking positive steps.
  
  "Remember, complaints produce burnout. Actions produce results," she said.


• Make a list. Mentally tracking incomplete tasks saps energy. Recharge by writing them out.
  
  "Get it on paper and out of your head," said Herman-Saccio. "Deal with each item by scheduling it, doing it or being clear that you will not be doing it."
   
• Take a lead. Managers can lift an office's mood just by acknowledging the hectic season.


• "In the spirit of servant leadership, ask: 'Is there anything I can do to make your life easier?'" said Palmer Hartl, author of "The Ten Commandments of Management." Encourage team members to look for ways to pull together.


• Turn them down. Learn to say no when necessary. "People's lives are better when they know how to set limits," Hartl said.
   
• Weigh traditions. "I wonder about the wisdom of holiday office parties," Hartl said.


• Some feel it's just another seasonal obligation. If time is tight for all, consider having a January celebration.
  
  Let workers weigh in before making such a change.
  
  "Let's put it to the group," he said.