CSE Newsletter: March 31, 2008 - Are You Just Busy?

Called To Assist I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone. [Numbers 11:17, NIV] Feel free to pass this ezine on to your friends and colleagues... << Subscribe to this Ezine >>     << View Previous Issue >>

NOTE FROM TAMALA

Hey there! I intended to send this to you yesterday, but my website hosting company shut down for a big move and we were out of commission for 48 hours. I thought I was going to go bonkers without my email! As I sit down at my computer to write, it is about 12:30 a.m. and I've just gotten home from my "other job" (it's conference time), but writing for you is like therapy for me (smile... sleepy smile). **What I Hate About Exercise** I have started (again) watching what I eat and exercising. For sure I'm not gonna want to wake up in the morning and hit the treadmill. I just downloaded season one of Samantha Who? to my iPod so maybe that will help motivate me. I hate that it takes so long to build up your endurance when exercising and one week of lounging around seems to take you back to ground zero (grimace)! Don't you? **Are You Just Busy?** With all of the tasks that you have to complete each day ask yourself if you are really being efficient or just busy. There is a difference. Check out the feature article below and see where you stand. Honored to Serve You, Tamala M. Huntley, Executive Assistant Author of Basic Training Module 101: Effectively Managing Multiple Projects... A Super Easy Guide to Getting Organized, Reducing Office Clutter, & Producing More With Less Stress

FEATURE ARTICLE

Are You Just Busy? by Tamala Huntley There are days when I go home thinking, what did I accomplish today? This person came in asking for this and that person called wanting me to drop everything and help them do something else.By the end of the day, my to-do list is longer than it was when I started!Does this sound familiar? I have a theory. Most of the time, we are just being busy... we are not accomplishing the really big things that we set out to do at the start of our day. This happens for many reasons. It's so easy to get distracted. And what happens is that we end up missing deadlines or feeling overwhelming pressure to finish something at the last minute. I have a vaccine for the busy-but-not-productive bug... Single Handle Every Task This means that when you are working on updating the membership database, don't get distracted by incoming email, phone calls, or chatty co-workers. I recently read that when you concentrate on one task, single-mindedly, without distraction, you can get the job done 50% faster! And that starting and stopping a task can increase the time it takes you to finish it by 500%. Enough said. Avoidance Doesn't Pay Off Avoiding big or what we may consider hard tasks doesn't make them go away. I actually think it makes it harder for you to concentrate on what you are doing in its place. Instead of being able to focus your attention completely on the substitute task, you keep thinking about what you have to do to finish the "big one" and your productivity actually decreases. On the flip side, starting and finishing the big task will psychologically strengthen your resolve to get tackle the rest of your tasks. Move Past Your Mistakes When you make a mistake... and we all do... don't beat yourself up about it. Accept responsibility for the outcome. Figure out what went wrong. Create a system to make sure it doesn't happen again. It's that simple. Don't be fooled by busyness. It is not the same as being productive. If you have the same tasks on your to-do list for weeks at a time and it's not because of someone else, you are too busy and can probably use a boost of productivity.

ABOUT TAMALA

Tamala M. Huntley, "The Church Secretary Coach," is the author of the revolutionary book, Effectively Managing Multiple Projects... A Super Easy Guide to Getting Organized, Reducing Office Clutter and Producing More With Less Stress. If you liked today's ezine, you'll ABSOLUTELY LOVE this simple, easy-to-read book. If you implement the principles you learn, you are guraranteed to see a turnaround in your life and work in just 1 week. It is the most practical and enjoyable guide to being an effective church secretary, executive assistant or administrative assistant available and QUICKLY produces TANGIBLE RESULTS. Browse the Table of Contents and read an excerpt now at www.ChurchSecretaryEssentials.com

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