Today is my first day back to work. (sniffle)
Less macbook. More thinkpad.
Less freetime. More stress.
Less sleep (?). Hope not. I have been sleeping pretty well the last 2 weeks.
Though I don’t write them down, one of my resolutions for this year should really be to work smarter. I already work pretty hard (if I may say so). So if I’m going to enjoy the majority of my waking life that I spend working these days, I must better prioritize, manage time and …. say no from time to time.
Any suggestions?
Sheila365 
I am such a firm believer in only handling a piece of paper once: pitch it, handle it, or file it. The same goes for emails and texts, deal with it once and be done. As an avid procrastinator, I can have hundreds of emails in my inbox and piles of documents on my desk, all just waiting for me to deal with each one “perfectly” which of course , never happens…this organizational rule of thumb has been a life saver for me (when I practice it !!!). Good luck old friend!!!!
hi teri. Yes. email management is a biggie. However, for the last 15 years of so, my work inbox has never been empty. I get several hundred a day, many requiring more than a quick reply. There are just not enough hours in the day. So I quickly get into a situation where many things that cross my inbox just never get my attention. Sad. Yes. THe other thing contending for my attention is our corporate instant messenger client…. constantly popping up with questions from people all over the world looking for help. So many todos… so little time.
I took TWO weeks off over the holidays this year and have not even checked in on my e-mail. I can’t tell you how badly I needed the break. I go back Monday (sniff) and think your resolution is one I shall adopt, as well. I would love to hear any “work smarter” tips you find successful. Happy New Year!
THanks. I need to block out time on my calendar just to do work. If I don’t do that, I end up on back to back conference calls/meetings from 6AM to 6PM, leaving no time during the day to get anything done… or eat… or work out… or whatever. Which means to get the work i’m supposed to done, done, i need to work through the wee hours. If I do anything different this year, I’ll try to do that.