As a mother of 2, a working career woman, a wife, a sister, a daughter (and daughter-in-law) and friend - you can see how limited my time is.  Therefore, it’s critical that everything I do in my approach to working (whether for myself or for an organization) is “smart” and “hard”.  Although I usually try to approach it a smart way first.  Here is my approach to working smart:

• Plan Plan Plan
• Balance
• Get Organized
• Focus
• Clear & Concise Communication

Plan Plan Plan

Part of my time is actually spent planning.  I plan in the shower, while drifting off to sleep, on the MTR to work, whenever I can, I will plan ahead.  This helps maximize the amount you can get done in the least amount of time.  This is especially critical at work.  My work strategy is to take 10 minutes each morning to mentally prepare myself for the rest of the day.  This will include:

• Going through my to-do list and identifying critical and important items (what needs to be done today?)
• Setting daily goals for my work items (how far do I want to go with each item today?)

The reason I need to plan is because I have so much to do with a limited amount of time.  I attribute part of someone’s desire to plan so much is that it’s a built-in function.  Some people simply don’t have the desire to plan and prefer to live by the edge of their pants, which is cool too - but when you get bogged down with too many details, planning is a good way to help prioritize and organize those details.

Balance

Working smart doesn’t mean you’re a slave to the work.  Working smart means you’re able to create openings for balance.  Balance at work, balance at home, balance in life.  Most people who know me, know that I am a very family-oriented person.  This is where I need my balance and therefore, a catalyst for working smart and being super productive.  On the flip side, everyone needs balance (especially chemical balance in our bodies).  We all need that little bit of down time, even if it means taking a longer pee break just to re-organize our thoughts.  I see balance as the means and the end to success. 

Get Organized

With the information age bombarding us with more and more information, it’s critical to filter and then organize.  Having a system for organizing and retrieving this information will speed up productivity.  It’s like being in a 10 million square foot warehouse full stuff.  You need a quick and efficient way to find item “ABC123″ which could literally be anywhere.  For this, PDAs and desktop organizers are your friend.  Storing contacts, using a calendar with reminders, keeping a to-do list (I could go on and on about the types of productivity utilities available) are part of your information systems.  Here are some of the things I like to use:

• Detailed contacts (I keep contacts of most people I come into contact with - you never know when you’ll need this information and you can just file it away and forget it)
• Update Calendar (With appointments, meetings, birthdays, vaccinations, travel plans, I need my calendar)
• Notes (gmail notebook and electronic post-its help greatly - I actually also use a physical notebook to jot things like shopping lists, rough plans, messages, everything)
• To-do lists (especially for important items like renewing passports and visas - or else, I’d have to leave the country)

For me, it’s important to organize everything.  It’s because my brain is so packed with “thinking” that I simply can’t remember it all.  I’ll admit that my memory isn’t too bad - especially for short-term stuff, but why store that type of information when you can organize it electronically and have that backed up and replicated?  Too bad I wasn’t photogenic.

Focus

Sometimes when I’m blogging, I get distracted by email, messages, my children, my iPhone games and a whole assortment of activity going on around me.  That’s fine.  Blogging isn’t important on the whole scope of my life - it’s a hobby.  At work however, I will try to focus.  This means ignoring email and/or telephone calls on items that are important and critical (see 7 Habits of Highly Effective People).  From experience, I’ve found that concentrated focus in bursts are by far more productive than scattered focus.  You always have to pick up from where you left off and that takes time and effort - thereby reducing your effective use of time.   This I apply to my children as well.  If I am dedicated and focused on spending quality time with them when I get home, I will do just that.  I won’t touch my emails, I won’t turn on the computer and I will screen calls.  They will pick their favourite books and we will sit in a quiet corner or in their room and simply read.  It’s that easy, but it takes focus to focus.

Clear and Concise Communcation

Communication is a two-way street, but if you’re 100% sure that you’ve communicated effectively and to the correct target audience, you can turn it into a one-way street with minimal distortion.  I try to communicate with these things in mind (especially in work-related and important items):

• Who is my audience?  (There is a difference when you’re talking to your children vs. your boss)
• What is my key message?  (Keep it short and to the point)
• Time and dates are never shortened  (I will always put the whole date, like today is Sunday, March 2, 2009 rather than March 9)
• Use colors and visual differences (Like in this article.  I’ve used a variety of formatting and bold for those lazy readers who scan - I’ve done my best to portray my message)
• Use appropriate channels (For critical NOW items, I don’t send that in an email.  I will go directly to the source either through telephone or in person and if that fails, than I will send an email indicating the avenues of communication I have tried so they know that you’re serious)

In short, keep it short and simple.  Yah, I know, I have a lot of words here (1017 word count up to NOW), but this is a blog and it’s my blog, so I can do whatever I want.  Besides, in most work communications, I don’t show much of my bubbly and quirky personality.  I am straight-forward, to the point and really do take on a “don’t waste my time” attitude.  Wow, dark and light - scary.  The truth of the matter is that when you’re effective in communicating, you really cut out all the crap of “clearing things up” and “mis-communication”. 

While on the flip side, if there is something you aren’t clear about - you have to ask.  I try to summarize what someone is telling me in my words and if they give me positive reinforcement, then I know I’ve received the message in accordance to their interpretation.  Of course, there are times when your boss is so vague that you just need good intuition to run with a project, but that again is another pre-built function that can be honed over experience and time.

That’s probably the gyst of what I do to working smart.  It sounds so organizational behaviour, but most of what  I’ve said is tangible.  So, maybe set a goal to set goals?  LOL…good luck and happy smart working!