Christina M. Surawicz, MD

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Time Management and Controlling the E-mail Monster

• Christina M. Surawicz, MD
• Professor of Medicine
• Assistant Dean for Faculty Development
• July 16, 2009
• e-mail surawicz_at_u.washington.edu

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Sources

• Steven Covey 7 habits of highly effective
  people
• David Allen Getting things done
• Susan Johnson Associate Provost, U. of Iowa
• Time management resources
• http//depts.washington.edu/facdev
• From Susan Johnson
• http//depts.washington.edu/facdev/pdfs/presentat
  ionsusanJohnson2009.pdf

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What are your biggest time management challenges?

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What Tools Do You Use?
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Recovering from Overwhelm.

• Stop and take a deep breath
• Slow down
• Focus
• Complete a random task
• Youll feel better
• Then begin a planning process
• No single method works for all
• Susan Johnson

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The Basics

1. Do it now - 80
2. Work from a clean space
3. Keep track of All your work commitments
4. Use a single master calendar
5. Plan weekly

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• 50,000 ft What is my lifelong purpose for being?
• 40,000 ft What are my goals for the next few
  years?
• 30,000 ft What are my objectives for the next
  year?
• 20,000 ft What are my current areas of
  responsibility?
• 10,000 ft What are my current projects?
• Runway What are my current tasks (actions)?

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Runway - Current Tasks

• Phone calls
• E-mails
• Lab follow ups
• Errands
• Clean kitchen

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10,000 Feet - Current Projects

• Research projects
• Presentations
• Teaching
• Clean basement

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20,000 Feet Areas of Responsibility

• Commitments research project?
• Strategic Planning
• Personal
• Health
• Family
• Recreation

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30,000 Feet 1 -2 Year Goals

• Write K award
• Learn clinical skills
• Become master teacher

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40,000 Feet 3 5 Year Vision

• Career
• Academic / Professional goals
• Financial
• Life goals

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50,000 Feet - Life

• Your Primary Purpose

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Time Management Matrix Goal II
Urgent Not Urgent
Impor ta nt I. Crisis Deadlines II. Planning Prevention Relationships Recreation
Not Impor ta nt III. Interruptions Some Meetings Some mail Some calls IV. Busy work Some mail Some calls Time wasters Pleasant activities

Stephen Covey

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Schedule Time for Whats Important

• Family
• Personal
• Health
• Friends
• Work
• Free time

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Value Based Time Management Sounds Great But

• May not simplify
• We may be overwhelmed because of our values!
• Critical for meaning and direction but doesnt
  simplify or make it easier
• David Allen, GTD

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Seems Overwhelming?

• Need to start somewhere
• Start from bottom up
• Clears the psychic decks

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GTD (Getting Things Done)

• Collect
• Process
• Organize
• Projects
• Next action categories

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• Collect
• Getting Things Done
• 2001, Viking
• Organize process out
• (List
• Store)
• Weekly review DO

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• Collect
• Get everything into your in basket
• Big, little
• Probably hundreds of items
• Frees up your mind
• Process
• Clarifies your commitment
• Deciding what to do

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• Each collected item
• Out
• Is this actionable NO Someday,
  Maybe
• Reference files
• What is the next action?
• 1. 2 minutes? Do it!
• 2. Longer?
• Delegate waiting for
• Defer to
• Is this (part of) a project? ? Calendar
• ? Next action list
• Define the outcome,
• Put it in your project system

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Process 4 Choices

• No next action
• Delete
• Someday/maybe
• Reference
• New action

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Reference - Filing

• Alphabetical rather than subject
• American College of Gastroenterology
• Faculty Council on University Relations
• Manuscripts
• Patients
• Software manuals
• Color coding usually not worth it

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Process Next Action

• 2 Minute rule - Do it now
• Longer
• Delegate
• Waiting for
• Defer
• - Calendar ..
• - Next action list

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ProcessGuidelines for in / out

• 1. Its your job
• 2. You promised
• _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ .
  _ . _ . _
• 3. Related to a long term goal
• 4. Interesting

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Organize

• Projects
• Tickle file
• Reference
• Someday/maybe

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Project List

• Everything you are committed to
• Accomplish now
• In the next few days, weeks or months

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Reminders

• Task lists
• Excel
• Remember the milk (online tool)
• Other ideas?
• Leave yourself voice messages

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Projects - Mine

• Time management talk
• Sell suburban Fix door lock first
• IBD patient checklist
• Weed garden
• Plan DC trip
• Finish knitting hat

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Time Management Talk

• Read GTD book
• Review Susan Johnson, materials
• Collate notes
• Make up new slides
• Where is talk?
• Ask for white board
• Get slides in on time
• Review and practice
• Give talk
• Make notes of suggestions to modify or improve
• Put note in Augmented CV folder

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Next Action Categories -

• Tickle File
• Bills
• Theater tickets
• Real estate taxes
• Manuscript deadlines
• Travel info for trips

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Someday/Maybe File

• Learn Spanish
• Get slides ? DVDs
• Plan trip to Asia
• Clean basement

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Next Action Categories

• Discipline yourself to make front end decisions
  about all the inputs so you have a next action
  plan
• Regular reminders
• Regular reviews

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Calendar

• Time specific actions
• Date specific actions
• Date specific information
• Not a to do list

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Find Time to Work During Work

• Susan schedules meetings with Dr. Lincoln,
  Clinton, etc.
• Need block time
• Advantage of keeping your own calendar

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• Finish today All other incoming -
• 1. Collect only
• 2.
• 3.
• 4.
• 5.
• ____________________________
• Only after the above are finished
• gt
• gt
• gt
• gt
• gt
• Include only urgent items
• that must be done today

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This Week Review

• Review and update
• - Project list
• - Next Action List
• - Calendar next 3 weeks
• - Waiting for
• Identify for the week
• Occasionally review
• -Someday Maybe List

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• Summary
• Collect
• Organize process out
• (List
• Store)
• Weekly review DO

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Tools - A Minimum

• 1. A work space
• 2. Calendar
• (one preferable)
• 3. To do list
• paper or electronic

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The E-Mail Monster
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E-Mail

• My love/hate relationship
• Composing
• Controlling/filing
• Taming the Monster
• Pitfalls

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What Do You Love About E-mail?
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E-mail My Love/Hate Relationship LOVE

• Easy to use
• Any time/any place
• Less dependent on
• Paper
• Fax
• Pager and voice mail
• Other?

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What Do You HateAbout E-mail?
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E-mail My Love/Hate Relationship - HATE

• Any time/any place
• Like Kudzu invasive
• Never planned for it or to have so much
• I never learned to budget time for it
• Its always increasing
• Strangers insert themselves into my life and work
  (patients, Drs., free advice)

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E-mail Hate (contd)

• Junk and spam
• The more I send, the more I get
• Cant easily control input form friends
• Jokes, etc
• Its permanent
• It can be embarrassing
• Important messages can be lost in filters or
  other
• Other?

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Composing

1. Why am I writing would phone or face be better?
2. Use subject line make informative
3. Keep message brief active voice facts,
   meetings
4. Read for tone, spell check automatic
5. Copy only to who really needs to see it

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Composing

• Create an auto-signature
• Full name
• Phone and fax numbers
• E-mail address
• Other Your title
• Mailing address Motivational message?
• Privacy warning a good idea for patient
  e-mail

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Composing

• Not for personal information or emotional
  messages
• Its permanent - what would this look like on a
  billboard?
• Like a postcard in pencil
• Easily seen
• Easily altered
• Easily forwarded

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Composing

• Avoid multipliers
• Subject line
• Specify no need to reply
• DRIB dont read if busy
• EOM end of message
• Stop jokes
• Stop sending jokes

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Controlling and Filing

• Like Spring cleaning clutter
• Do I need to reply
• Do I need to follow up?
• Do I need to keep it?
• Could I get this information again?

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3 Folders

• Pending
• Projects
• References

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Make a Waiting For Folder

• E-mails you sent and need a reply
• Copy yourself or get it from sent mail right away
  and file it
• _at_ waiting for

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Other Folders Categories You Use

• Projects
• Personal
• Try to limit
• Outlook alphabetizes automatically
• Reference Can mass file b/c
• find feature is usually pretty good

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Taming the Monster

• 1. Dont look at E-mail first thing in day
• Do some other important task first
• 2. Turn off the sound alert for new incoming
  messages

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Taming the Monster

• 3. Decide when/where youll answer it try to
  block time for it
• ? Let colleagues know to page you if something
  is urgent
• 4. Limit the time youll spend
• Kitchen timer
• Avoids never ending sessions

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Taming the Monster

• 5. Use a system
• Oldest or most recent
• Try not to skip deal with it
• Do most important first if possible or file for
  later
• 5 Options
• Delete
• Respond
• File (Archive)
• Defer flag
• Avoid if possible
• Forward

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Taming the Monster

• 6. Getting Space Back
• Empty sent and deleted folders frequently
• Sent Click on first one, select all,
  then delete
• If limited space
• - Empty Folders/attachments
• - Find largest files to delete
• (enormous, huge, etc.)

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Taming the Monster

• 7. How I got from 1500 ? 75
• - Divided into most recent (1 week)
• - Started with oldest
• - Sorted by sender
• Often related and duplicate copies
• - Or by date or by topic
• - Budgeted time daily
• (end of day and weekend afternoons on the
  patio)
• - Once I started, it went quickly
• - Goal 1 Screen inbox

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My Challenges

• Clean out folders
• Catch up after time away
• Get from 100 ? empty

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Other

• Out of office message
• I use it even if I can check
• e-mail sporadically
• Check junk mail folder weekly to catch important
  messages

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Common Pitfalls

• Emailstorming
• Writing and sending when emotional
• Write and delete or save
• Count to ten
• Read it or send to a friend
• (less wise since can be forwarded)

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Emotions

• E-mail has no emotional cues no facial
  expression or tone of voice
• Easily misread
• All caps -
• Case sensitive

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Pitfalls

• Reply-arrhea
• E-mail incontinence
• Unable to stop hitting reply to all
• No cc-ums
• Pesky e-mails that hit everyone and have
  nothing to do with assignments, updates or
  announcements

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Pitfalls

• Double check before sending (auto-complete can
  put in wrong name and address) and check
  distribution lists
• Automatic spell check be careful
• Carlos Carols

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Pitfalls

• Separate address book for addresses you send
  sensitive information to
• Over use of Urgent
• Crying wolf?
• Viruses in attachments

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Inappropriate Use

• Know University Rules
• Have a personal account
• UW e-mail must not be forwarded automatically to
  a non-UW account

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Patient E-mail Another Talk

• HIPAA
• Keep PHI out of subject line
• Reinforce lack of privacy (privacy statement)
• Cannot bill for it
• Have patient e-mail you first

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Questions ?
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• Remind yourself that when you die, your In
  Basket wont be empty.
• From Carlson
• Dont sweat the small stuff
• and its all small stuff

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• If I only get one thing done today,
• it will be ______________________

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• Time is finite
• We wont have more
• We cant really save it
• Thank you!