You Can Work Better, Faster and Smarter Without Feeling Overburdened

Do you curl up in a ball and cry in a corner when your workload becomes too burdensome? All right, maybe you don’t take the actual steps to run away from your work, but that doesn’t mean you don’t find yourself stressed, harassed, pressed down, wrung out, or otherwise overwhelmed by your work.

Whenever I take on a new project, I carefully examine how that task will impact everything else I do. Some projects look quite daunting, but if it is something I really want to do, I’ll find a way to get it done. Hell, high water, and hassles cannot stop me!

Those Deadly Time Wasters!

Time wasters are efficiency killers and the only way to work better, faster, and smarter is to control those things which take up too much of your time. I bet you can name a few, but I’ll kick things off by listing the following:

Email: Many people praise the reality that email has essentially replaced snail mail. It has also brought junk mail from the mailbox to the inbox.

To avoid excess solicitations, I do not share my email addresses as readily as I once did. I ignore the majority of the messages and I only respond to those inquiries which are of interest to me.

Social Media: I am active with a handful of social communities, but I do maintain accounts with many other ones. I’ll take a decent free link where I can get it, but I won’t waste my time where little benefit can be derived through my participation. I tend to ignore people on social sites who are overly zealous with their sphinn and/or stumble requests.

Phone Calls: Before I conference over the phone, I strongly prefer to make an appointment via email to arrange a mutually convenient time to hold our discussion. Brevity is essential, though a lengthy conversation can be beneficial when multiple points must be covered.

Customers: Customers who are a good fit, I keep close to my side.

I know what they want and I respond in a timely manner with work that meets or exceeds their expectations. These are people who trust my professional expertise and are confident that I am a man of my word. Penny pinchers, doubters, and people who aren’t trusting are one time customers.

Personal Marketing: I don’t mean social media (mentioned earlier), rather the marketing of my personal brand as noted by me yesterday. As a freelance writer, I can spend hours on a daily basis soliciting new business, writing proposals, and doing whatever it takes to bring in new work. Blogging is part of my personal marketing strategy as this blog is usually the first page my future customers land on when they visit my site.

I do not engage in memes, respond to tagging, or write special “blog day” articles just because everyone else does. On the other hand, I am generous with my outbound linking and blog commenting. Guess which method takes up the least amount of my time?

Control Your Time and You Control Your Financial Picture

When you are the master of your time you work better, earn more money, and you can chase other pursuits. Burdens sap you of your energy, steal your peace, and make you highly unproductive. The choice is yours — how well do you manage your time?