Work dilema

[debilorrah]

Lately I KNOW I have been forgetting important things, I messed up a finance issue, I forgot to take things to our board meeting, etc. Well today I was treated to a very expensive lunch in order to soften the blow. My attention to detail needs improvement or I will be put on probation at the end of the year.

I know my first course of action is stay the heck off BYC during the day unless it is lunch. Now - I need suggestions from you wonderful people how to focus better. I have lost track of the number of projects I have and my Outlook reminders don't always work.

One of my problems is the customer service gal that lets her phone ring off the hook and it is VERY distracting, because if she doesn't answer I need to. It pulls me off task on a regular basis. This I can address with my boss, no problem. They are very understanding people, and I am fully aware this is all my own fault.

I need to have some tools to focus better!!! I used to be good at and clearly I have lost that skill.

 

[ScoobyRoo]

All I can say is I'm gonna miss you.

I know you don't want to leave us to ourselves most of the day. I promise we will behave so you can focus on your work.

 

[HEChicken]

If I could offer any solution, it would be not to use company computers for personal use. Period. My feeling is, they are paying me to be there to perform work duties - not check my email, update my bank accounts or keep up with a special interest forum. I'll admit, I fell into this trap myself at my last job. It was just way too easy to have a window open and do personal stuff while waiting for reports or queries to run. If it was taking a long time, I'd "flip over" to my personal stuff while I was waiting. Except I'd get so busy looking at that (way more interesting after all!) and forget to even go back and check on the query until long after it had completed. Eventually I just had to take myself to task and go cold turkey. I decided I wasn't going to do ANY personal stuff at work any more and it made a huge difference. I also felt better about myself at the end of the day, and was able to look forward to going home to catch up on personal stuff online.

 

[GaNewChick]

I'm sorry that is happening. First thing as you said, no BYC ~ you might want to stay off of during lunch as well, maybe for a month ... use that time to organize. I know most people would rather take lunch, but ~ just for a little while.

Can you tape a list of things to do where you have to look at it? Sticky notes? Write on a desktop calendar, highlighting important things to do and scratch off once completed?

I was noticing the other day the number of posts you had ...

to you while you work this out.

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
Most of the time, it is BYC that distracts me during the day. I need to just stop. The other personal stuff I do on my lunch break. I actually didn;t look at BYC this afternoon after the wonderful lunch I had and I find that I have totally lost focus!!!! And yes it IS easy to get into that habit of checking a page for a couple seconds.

There have to be some focusing tools out there. I need to get all my projects on a list or something.....

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:
Lists, I love lists, sometimes I forget to do things myself, if I don't write it down I forget, I have a list of month end stuff I do every month, and I make sure I've done them!

my weekly tasks I pretty much know, each day I have to do one thing or another and I know that, they're the first things I do.

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
Lists, I love lists, sometimes I forget to do things myself, if I don't write it down I forget, I have a list of month end stuff I do every month, and I make sure I've done them!

my weekly tasks I pretty much know, each day I have to do one thing or another and I know that, they're the first things I do.

Ok here is my biggest issue: this agency is a growing agency (local transit) by leaps and bounds every day. One of my main responsibilities is to be up on all the FTA rules for procurement and grant spending. This entails HOURS of reading, while other tasks sit and wait. So I put the reading aside to do the other tasks and then something comes up that I need to have an answer for and I scramble on the FTA site to find the danged answer!!!!

I kinda feel like I am in a vicious cirlce, but I KNOW I have the ability to do this!!! Just HOW????

 

[Mahonri]

Well good luck my friend.

My employees think I'm in the stone age because I make them CALL to confirm insurance rather than getting High Speed internet in the office to do it.

I just know I'm getting a lot more work done because I don't allow them to go online at my office. I have dial up and that's it and I rarely use it... just to pay bills from time to time. I don't allow them to use dialup either!

I need to stay off BYC from 11PM to 5AM because then I don't get enough sleep... and SLEEP is important!

So... you stay off BYC during the day... and I'll stay off in the middle of the night.

And we'll all stay focussed!

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:
Lists, I love lists, sometimes I forget to do things myself, if I don't write it down I forget, I have a list of month end stuff I do every month, and I make sure I've done them!

my weekly tasks I pretty much know, each day I have to do one thing or another and I know that, they're the first things I do.

Ok here is my biggest issue: this agency is a growing agency (local transit) by leaps and bounds every day. One of my main responsibilities is to be up on all the FTA rules for procurement and grant spending. This entails HOURS of reading, while other tasks sit and wait. So I put the reading aside to do the other tasks and then something comes up that I need to have an answer for and I scramble on the FTA site to find the danged answer!!!!

I kinda feel like I am in a vicious cirlce, but I KNOW I have the ability to do this!!! Just HOW????

I deal with policies but they don't change much unless I change them myself.

You need to set some time for reading up, and learning these things, and you must explain that you need the time and peace and quiet to do it.
Ask your boss straight out when would be a good time for you to be off the "back-up" phone duties, and let the customer service lady know that you won't be answering her phone during those hours - or talk to her, and figure it out between the two of you if you are on good terms!

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
Ok here is my biggest issue: this agency is a growing agency (local transit) by leaps and bounds every day. One of my main responsibilities is to be up on all the FTA rules for procurement and grant spending. This entails HOURS of reading, while other tasks sit and wait. So I put the reading aside to do the other tasks and then something comes up that I need to have an answer for and I scramble on the FTA site to find the danged answer!!!!

I kinda feel like I am in a vicious cirlce, but I KNOW I have the ability to do this!!! Just HOW????

I deal with policies but they don't change much unless I change them myself.

You need to set some time for reading up, and learning these things, and you must explain that you need the time and peace and quiet to do it.
Ask your boss straight out when would be a good time for you to be off the "back-up" phone duties, and let the customer service lady know that you won't be answering her phone during those hours - or talk to her, and figure it out between the two of you if you are on good terms!

I don't think anyone is on "good terms" with her. Her nickname is Skanky.

However, I am polite. Recently however, apparently she asked me to do something (I dont remember this) and apparently I said no, and she actually told my boss that someday I would need something from her and she would refuse. How mature.

I will figure out a polite way around the calls, I have no problem talking to my boss about that one. But asking for time away from back up phones is a GREAT idea!!! Thanks!