Top 10 Time Wasters

Arthur A. Hawkins II wrote a book on business effectiveness I bought in 1996.  It's out of print, I just learned when I attempted to buy a copy for a client, so I fear that this blog may be the only place you can get these tips:

• Procrastination & Excuses.  If you don’t start, you can’t finish.  Reach your goals & objectives by continually working toward them.
• Running Errands & Traveling.  Plan ahead.  Combine tasks and trips.
• Rushing.  Don’t try to do everything at once or wait until the last minute.  List what must be done and the time it takes to do it.  Schedule and plan ahead but allow for the unexpected.
• Telephone, Mail and E-Mail.  Why are you calling/writing?  Clearly define your purpose and what you want to accomplish.  When you’ve accomplished your objective, hang up and move on.
• Paperwork, Reports & Memos.  Keep is short and sweet.  Get to the point immediately and be clear about it.
• Meetings.  Schedule meetings carefully-time, date, location, length, type, attendees.  Avoid unnecessary meetings.
• Television.  Informed viewer or couch potato?  Determine what’s really important to you.  Be a self-starter, do something important.  Turn it off!
• Planning & Decision Making.  To accomplish what you want, you must act!  Plan it out in detail ahead of time.  Bottom line:  Get the job done.  Decide!
• Computer.  Why make entries already there?  Plan-know what you need and where & how to get it.  Back it up.  Limit your time on line.
• Just Say YES.  Don’t bite off more than you can chew.  If you can’t fit something into your schedule, no matter how tempting, don’t accept it!