Five Tips For The Tic Toc Thing

Someone famous once said, "The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot."

Ever gone into work with three things to do and at the end of the day finally get around to them? It happens to us all.

If you work in a service industry, you'll understand how time can get the best of you. Here are five points I've found have helped me:

1) Be methodical. Keep calm and don't allow yourself the luxury of getting flustered because that will divert your focus from the next thing. And there is always a next thing.

2) Sooth the savage beast. "Let me see what I can do" is a much better response to a client in panic mode than "Are you bloody nuts?" Many clients will come to you in a state, mainly because their superiors have set a deadline, their process has been held up in committees, or decisions have been late coming to them. It's the nature of the beast. This is a great time to develop a relationship with the client and to help them prepare properly for the next job they come to you with.

3) Give them what they ask for, and then show them what they really need. Some clients are very clear about what they want from you, possibly to the detriment of the work. If they ask for something you might think is hurting, show it to them, but also show them what you think works. When you're in a file, it doesn't take long to do a "save as" and offer an alternative that may work harder for the client. Your client will appreciate having an informed choice. And if they go with what they originally wanted, hey, you tried...

4) Understanding is good for the soul. Most of the time the difference between ho-hum work and great work is dependent on the clues you gather from the client when you listen. Involve the client in the process. If you are a prima donna you set up walls. Walls = not good.

5) Eat your vegetables first. Try to do the stuff you hate to do first and get it out of the way. Once that broccoli is down the hatch, the rest is gravy (sorry, bad analogy).

Have a great day! I'm off to work...

Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save. ~ Will Rogers