Daily Love Tip #77

Give Your Answering Machine A Workout

from JoeUser Forums
Home phone. Work phone. Cell phone. Pager. Some people can be reached anywhere at any time. Though it may be convenient, it can also become a time-wasting interruption and a source of stress.

Getting Caller ID to screen unwanted calls is a small step toward independence. Then let your answering machine do its job on a more regular basis. Don't answer the phone during dinner or "family times." Use email. At work, schedule a morning or two a week where it's common knowledge that others should "leave a message." Schedule time to return calls in the afternoon when your energy is not as high. Don't ignore those who call; just fit them into a more appropriate time slot.
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Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
Great advice... I just wish I could follow it My job depends on me being able to be contacted 24/7... healthcare profession can be pretty demanding =/

Though I do admit I will normally let the cell phone rest when it isn't work calling
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
I read an interesting article several months ago that pretty much followed along these lines written by an "efficiency expert". I wish I could find it, it was quite informative. The basic premise was that with e-mail/pagers/cells we get interrupted many times each day.

His study showed that most people, while at work, respond to these interruptions almost immediately, regardless of what they were doing at the time. This resulted in many distrupted thought patterns during the working day, and this causes inefficiency since we have to get "back on track" when we resume that task.

His solution was to let those interruptions wait. Don't have your e-mail client running while you are working at your desk. Create a task specific to handling e-mail, and do that a few times during the day inbetween other tasks. Don't answer routine calls if you are busy on some task, but rather let your machine or voice mail handle it. Then later address any missed calls.

Sounds advice, I think, but I never seem to be able to turn my e-mail client off (nor my IE window stuck on JoeUser).
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Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
that's a nice thought............don't ignore the call, schedule them to fit your time........