Productivity At the Door

You kick open the door and stumble in with arms loaded, keys dangling from a finger, mail tucked under your elbow and what do you do? Dump it on the nearest flat surface! Sound familiar? You are not alone. However, believe it or not, the moment you walk in the door is actually critical to your productivity. If you need a better way to tackle this important moment, follow these guidelines:

1. Begin by putting “routine” items into their home: a particular location where they always go, no matter what. At a minimum, this should include your coat, hat/gloves/scarf, keys, loose change, cell phone, and wallet. If you do not have a designated space for these items, you obviously need to establish one first. Think about setting up hooks for coats, a dish for change, a charging station for electronics, a drawer/basket for gloves, etc.
2. Empty out items from any containers you have carried in. Examples here include might include a purse, briefcase, canvas bags, folders/binders, or your pockets. Spread out the contents on your desk, counter or table. Take time NOW to put away anything you can. For example, papers from a meeting should go into a file, meeting agendas you no longer need can be shredded, and a dirty coffee mug can get rinsed and put in the dishwasher. The key here is to resist the temptation to leave items in a pile (or temporary place) to which you will have to return later and decide what to do with them. One step is always faster than two steps!
3. Take time now to review any “to do” items that have resulted from the experience you have just had. For instance:

• If you have come back from a school function, you may need to make a call or check a date. If it takes fewer than 2 minutes, do it immediately. Otherwise, look at your calendar and decide when you will follow up.
• If you are returning from a meeting with a list of follow up tasks to perform, the time is now to get out your planning system (whether it be paper or electronic), and schedule when you will tackle each item (e.g. “Tuesday morning I will research how to improve my social media presence on Google+”)
• If you are facing a pile of papers, triage them by type of task, putting them into action folders, such as “To Read,” “To Call,” “To Respond,” or “To Pay.”
• If you have paperwork relating to an item that is in process (such as a flyer for an upcoming event or a receipt for an item you are waiting to arrive in the mail), put it into a “Pending” file.
• If you’ve walked in with a stack of business cards, take time to load them into your Rolodex or electronic Contacts list. Be sure to include any special notes about each person so you will remember later why you want to remain in touch.