How Can You Save Money by Spending Your Time More Wisely?

By Jeffry M. Finkel The following article was published in the Atlanta Hospital News in June, 2009. Time.  We often don’t have enough of it. We usually want more of it.  We constantly wonder what we could do with extra time. Well, unless you’re traveling from Atlanta to L.A. and “gaining” a few hours, you might as well accept the fact that all you get each day are 24 hours…1,440 minutes… and 86,400 seconds. This column usually highlights ways to save money on vendor services like telecommunications and credit card processing. This month’s column focuses primarily on saving money through better use of time.  Time has a monetary value.  People who use time wisely are more productive. Increased production effectively reduces personnel costs. The following tips may help you become more productive and less stressed. •  Purge unwanted emails:  Most people are overwhelmed by voluminous amounts of daily email.  Take time to unsubscribe to email publications you no longer read.  Set up additional email addresses to triage your incoming email.  Have important emails sent to your main email address.  Establish secondary email addresses…perhaps one for medical newsletters, another for vendor bills, and another for personal email.  Check these secondary email accounts less frequently. You will feel less overwhelmed. •  Modify how you manage meetings:  (1) Provide adequate advance notice, (2) Provide agendas in advance so people can prepare, (3) Keep meetings as short as possible, (4) Start and end at the times you promise, (5) Consider having everyone stand if the meeting is short enough.  You’ll be surprised at how much more effective your meetings can be. •  Flag emails for later follow-up when possible:  Resist the urge to tackle requests or demands the minute they reach your inbox.  Flag important emails for follow-up when appropriate. •  Record and track your tasks:  Use features like Outlook’s “Tasks” and “Notes” functions for recording “things-to-do”.  Set priorities and due dates.  Use “time advancing” to assign actual due dates to activities so you are not carrying over tasks day to day that are not due until much later.  Your “To Do” list will be much more manageable. •  Receive faxes electronically:  Free your fax machine to only send faxes.  Save time and reduce costs by not printing faxes you don’t need to save (e.g., spam, advertisements).  Don’t waste time manually scanning faxes that need to be electronically stored when you can receive them electronically.  Companies offering this service include Efax and MaxEmail. •  Utilize web-conferencing:  When practical, connect people in remote locations through web-conferencing for meetings and training rather than bringing them together.  Web-conferencing is often more practical and convenient than face-to-face meetings. •  Employ voice recognition and auto-correction technology:  Increase your speed of typing correspondence and reports by integrating voice recognition and word processing technology. Software like “Dragon” captures your voice and types your dictation.  Consider using the “Auto-correct” function in MS Word which can automatically populate common addresses and phrases in your documents. •  Change format of user-group emails:  If you belong to a user-group (e.g., Biomedical Users) and currently receive individual posts, consider changing your preferences to receive just a single daily or weekly email that contains multiple posts. •  Use reminder services:  Services like “PingMe” allow you to record reminders that are sent to your cell phone or PDA.  Never miss an important meeting. •  Use voice-to-text services:  When you are on the go, convert voice notes, messages, and reminders into text and send them to a designated cell phone, PDA, or email of your choice. An example service is “Jott Assistant” (Jott.com). •  Shop online:  “Let your fingers do the walking (typing).”  Research information and prices online.  Buy online.  Save time (and gas!) by not driving around town. •  Utilize “You Tube” and webinars:  “You Tube” can be a great source for quick instruction on a wide range of topics (e.g., how to use your printer, advanced “Outlook” tips).  Webinars (internet-based seminars) offer a great alternative to attending seminars in person. •  Protect your time:  Block time on your calendar for important work you need to perform. Close your door for privacy.  If you have a cubicle, place a “Do Not Disturb” sign outside your cubicle.  Forward your calls to voice mail. These are just a few of numerous suggestions for gaining control of your time.    Jeffry Finkel is the President and owner of Overhead Reduction Services. Jeff may be reached at 404 995-9112 or Jeff@OverheadReductionServices.com.