Yes, I do have a weekly meeting. On Friday, I pull together my calendar, notes, projects, and sit down with the phone to voice mail to concentrate on my review and follow-up.

Current Week:

• File completed projects
• Update timelines on open projects
• Layout timelines for new projects
• Update dates on my calendar
• Review any notes
• Rewrite sticky notes into my notebook

New Week:

• Begin To-Do list for new week
• Prioritize projects
• Highlight priority follow-ups
• Highlight priority e-mails
• Highlight priority calls

Yes, there will be things that might need to be updated throughout the week, but you should never miss a week without a complete sit down and review. Regardless if it is 30 minutes to two hours, it will be the best time spent of the whole week. You never know what you might have missed during the week. This is definitely the catch time!

Do you have any tips on a weekly meeting? How do you review your week? We would love to hear your tips - let us know!

This is an original The Office Gal post.

At one point, you will reach the level of no return. You will need to control the urge to accept the interruptions and put a stop to them. Rephrase that. It might not stop them, but it will limit them to allow you the time to carry on with your business.

The following tips may work alone or in a combination of several together to help you control your office. Not every tip will fit every office and some might not work at all for you. Give them a try and let us know which ones work!

Slash the e-mail. Funny thing is the largest interruption is actually your own e-mail. Some people are e-mail junkies and will check it every five to ten minutes. Slow down! Many e-mails have pop-ups that will show you a snippet of the e-mail. If it’s not important right now, leave it. Optimally, set up three times per day to check your inbox.

Set up office times. If you work out of your home, set up specific office hours for meetings and phone calls. Having this allotted time makes sure your remaining work hours are spent being productive on projects. Don’t allow calls and pop-ins to happen. Once it is accepted, people will begin to take advantage.

Close the door. If you work in an office with many others, walk-ins can be disastrous to your projects, especially if you have Miss Gossip that loves to visit, and visit often. Create a sign stating you are working on a project and hang it up - on your door, cubicle, or wall. Give yourself a a specific time window, like two hours, before you will begin seeing people again. Use your voice mail and e-mail to your advantage!

Set meet-up times. Of course you will have a handful of people that are “must” meets. An assistant, or fellow team leader, or your own team leader if you work in a home office. Set specific times to meet with these people daily or weekly. This will allow everyone to be prepared to meet and breeze through instead of dropping in and forgetting what you had to ask or say.

Do you have a tip or suggestion when it comes to avoiding office interruptions? Share it with the readers of The Office Gal. Leave a comment or contact me and I will add it to our list!

This is an original The Office Gal post.

Time to go read. Improve and enjoy!

• Keep it Real, Even When it Sucks @ Slacker Manager.
• How Do You Answer Your Weakest Interview Question? @ Daily Career Connection.
• Top 5 Unexpected Places to Network @ Daily Biz Solutions.
• Get Things Started: Simpler Than GTD? @ Freelance Switch.
• 9 Ideas For A More Creative And Effective Brainstorming Process @ Freelance Folder.
• Cut Waste! Stop Spreadsheet Sloppiness @ Project Management 411.

There you go readers, six links to help you get up and go for a great week!

And as always, if you have a link that you feel would be great to feature in our weekly link love, please let us know!

This is an original The Office Gal post.

1. Email. There are two main problems that pop up. One is the constant alert for new messages, which you can choose to turn off. The second is if your inbox is never emptied. You will continually scroll through all of the items because you are fearful of overlooking something. You need to find a system of folders that let you clear out the general inbox and prioritize your action items.

2. Telephone. Do you feel you have to answer every call right when it comes in? Set aside time blocks to deal with non-urgent calls, and let your voice mail tell callers when they can expect to hear from you.

3. Paper. If you have stacks of papers around your desk, you will shift through them frequently to find the urgent items of the day. Instead set up Daily Action folders, make a decision on the needed action the first time you look at it, and keep your desk cleared of distracting stacks.

4. Visitors. Clients may drop by without notice or a colleague may have a break and decide to take it in your space. Get to the point quickly if someone comes by and interrupts your work.

5. Environment. This can include heating and lighting. If you are too cold or too hot, you are constantly reflecting on how uncomfortable you are. The lighting in an office can create glare, leading to headaches and tired eyes, causing you to stop frequently. There is no one answer for the right temperature or light situation. You need to find the correct level for yourself.

6. Noise. Overhearing colleagues’ discussions, one-sided telephone conversations, or outside activities diverts your concentration. If you are easily distracted, close your door, use a small white noise machines, or try headphones.

7. Meetings. In a work environment where meetings are frequent, it becomes difficult to set aside an uninterrupted block of time for detailed projects. You end up coming in early or staying late so that you can finally get things done. Make sure that you have scheduled time to focus on projects during the day. It needs to be written on your calendar.

8. Lists. Working from lengthy lists, whether ToDos, a book of voice mail messages, or an email inbox, causes you to look at the same items again and again. You have to make decisions every time you scan through the items. Your mind keeps jumping around and planning ahead instead of focusing on one item in front of you. Write down tasks on single sheets of paper so that you can easily prioritize your work.

9. Expectations. What response time has unofficially developed with regard to returning phone calls and email messages? When you feel you have to immediately respond to a call, you allow yourself to constantly be interrupted. Could a 3-minute response time be changed, letting people know you will respond within two hours or four hours?

10. You. Often you may become bored with your activity and decide to check email for a few minutes; or you have several projects in view and your mind keeps jumping from one to the other. Work with only one project on your desk at a time. If you momentarily lose focus, do not give up, just try to get back on track.

The first step in limiting distractions is to be aware of them. You may be able to add more things to this beginning list. Once you recognize what interferes with your work, then you can begin to make the changes that will add to your daily productivity.

© 2008 Denise Landers, Key Organization Systems, Inc.

Do you work harder every day just to keep up with an ever increasing workload? Denise Landers shows you how simple it is to work smarter and stop stress overload in her time management seminars at http://www.KeyOrganization.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Denise_Landers

Now your e-mail is your land. You make the rules, but I have a few suggestions that might become habit-forming. My first suggestions - take care of it as it comes in. Don’t read the e-mail when it first comes in and then get back to it later. No, do it now.

Timing. The easiest way to tame the lion is to choose two or three set times during your work day to check your inbox. At that time review e-mails, reply where needed, and process any work that needs to be done. Control the e-mails now, so they don’t get out of hand later.

Think. When you are going through your e-mails, think before replying. Does the e-mail really need a reply, or is it more for informational purposes? Not everyone needs a nice e-mail saying “Thank you.” This takes your time and the receivers time. Always think before replying to make the most use of your time.

Quick. Replying to e-mails doesn’t have to be lengthy and windy. Be straight forward and to the point. Always be kind with an opening, but then get to the purpose of the e-mail. Save small talk for a weekly lunch with the colleagues.

File. I know it is easy to just file away because you never know what you might need, right? Well, honestly, 99% of what you file, you may never need again. This is important because you take up time searching through all of those e-mails to find the right one. Think about what you truly need to file for work purpose - otherwise get rid of it.

Do you have a tip or suggestion when it comes to taming the e-mail inbox? Share it with the readers of The Office Gal. Leave a comment or contact me and I will add it to our list!

This is an original The Office Gal post.

Hopefully this weeks links will help you prepare and stay focused during your daily routine for a more successful work week. Of course, I did add one link in to give us a little more humor. We do need to lighten up a bit.

• Advice to New Managers @ Blue Suit Mom. 61
• Three Low Cost Ways to Advertise Your Small Office @ Office Stuffer.
• How To Get Fired From Your Management Job @ Slacker Manager.
• Handling Complaints Without Making Things Worse @ Daily Biz Solutions.
• How To Create Good Work Habits @ Daily Career Connection.
• How to Set Deadlines (& 7 Common Mistakes to Avoid) @ Pick the Brain.

Do you have a link that you feel would be great to share with readers of The Office Gal? Then contact me and I will include it in the next link love post.

This is an original The Office Gal post.

• Remember Day 1 @ Management Craft.
• Permanent Link to Bounce! Ignore the Fear and Go from Failure to Success! @ Life Learning Today.
• Introducing A New Way Of Prioritizing @ Organize It.
• The Holy Grail: How to Outsource the Inbox and Never Check Email Again @ 4 Hour Work Week.
• 8 Ninja Uses for Binder Clips @ The Cranking Widgets Blog.
• Links and Resources for the Chronically Disorganized @ 43 Folders.
• 10 Misconceptions the Self-Employed Deal With Daily @ LifeDev Productivity for Creative People.

Do you have a link that you feel would be great to share with readers of The Office Gal? Then contact me and I will include it in the next link love post.

This is an original The Office Gal post.

There is one link - Health.com - that really has absolutely nothing to do with the office or being productive. I added the link since it is about sleep and sleep is one important tool to have in order to be productive. So, it ties in - after about six degrees!

Hopefully you will be able to take away some great information from the links provided. Possibly find the one thing that will snap you into production? Hmm? Well, regardless of your productivity level, or your procrastination level - that’s me! - enjoy your reading.

• Top Time-wasters for Web Workers (And How to Cure Them) @ Web Worker Daily.
• When Being Helpful Is A Time Waster @ Network Blogging Tips.
• In or out? Working at and away from home @ Freelance Sprout.
• How To Get The Best Out Of Working For A Bad Boss @ Daily Career Connection.
• 10 Ways to Go From Tired to Terrific @ Health.com. - so not office related, but can definitely make you a better office companion.
• Reader Question - Organized Work Desk @ Productivity501.
• Excellence - Perfection vs. Efficiency @ Productivity501.
• Are You Not Setting Personal Goals Due To Uncertainty? @ Persistence Unlimited.

Many courses that you will find on-line will help individuals with organization and focus either at home or at work. One such course that I received an e-mail on concerning focusing at work was actually created for adults with ADHD. With a child that has been diagnosed with ADHD, I receive these e-mails periodically and although I do not have adult ADHD, I did sign up for the course.

Regardless of whom this course was originally created for, it truly holds great information for everyone in respect to office organization, prioritizing tasks, communicating with co-workers, and time management. With techniques learned in this course, you can allow yourself time to drill down into specific areas that may need improvement and really focus on those subjects.

The Life Management Center, sponsored by Shire, offers these free courses that cover all areas in life - family, home, and work. Each course focuses on a specific area of your life, but together will help you to create a great life balance. The Finding Focus at Work course has already begun, but you can easily catch up with this self-guided on-line course.

Signing up won’t cost you anything, but you can gain a lifetime of information to help you stay on track.

Other courses offered through Life Management Center:

• Achieving Work-Life Balance
• Get Organized: Tips for Conquering Clutter
• Getting Organized and Managing Your Priorities at Home

Here again, I am listing some great links from around the blogoshpere that I really liked, have found useful in my own world, or just plain thought you might want to know. Enjoy!

• Business cards: Replaceable with Evernote? at Unclutter.
• How To Work from Home at Real Simple.
• 8 Tips for Developing Good Listening Skills at Office Stuffer.
• Boomers vs Gen Xers - Do They Have a Different Work Ethic? at Daily Biz Solutions.
• SWOT: The #1 Secret to “Serious” Career Growth at Daily Career Connection.
• Should You Tattle On A Bad Client? at Freelance Folder.

Do you have a great blog or web site that offers great work advice? Have a link that we should feature? Send it our way!