I am all for using systems because when you look at the word as an acronym, a system is something that:
Saves
You
Stress
Time
Effort
Money
But on Friday and over the weekend I had a few experiences that were so frustrating because the systems I got caught up in were not delivering any of the above (for me, anyway).
I wanted to have the address on my phone bill changed to the physical address from the postal address. The complex in which I stay is in Ben Avenue. But there is no street number. Which is what I told the lady in Call Centre Heaven when she asked me for the street number – a few times. In the end I gave up because she could not change my address because “the system” required a street number!
On another call, the lady I was talking to kept on telling me that “the system is so slow today”.
Who are these systems serving, and has it not become too easy to blame “the system” if something is wrong?
You are running late for a meeting because you left too late, but it’s so easy to blame the system (in this case “the traffic”) for your circumstances.
So I decided to have a look at the “systems” I use to make my life easier and streamline them where I can, throw a system out or replace it with another.
I encourage you to do the same. Have a good look at whatever systems you are currently using and as whether they are saving you stress, time, effort and money. If not, throw it out.
Here is a tip to work into your system for processing email.
First of all (if your job allows it), get out of the Inbox and go there only a few times a day to process what’s new.
Create two folders: “File” and “Action”. Then go through your new batch of emails at the speed of white light and make a quick decision about every message: Is this email for Filing (just keep it) or Action or can I Trash it. After a few minutes your Inbox will be empty and you would have moved the messages to File or Action or you would have deleted it. Immediately you are more in control and less overwhelmed and you can move to the next step and process the Action emails.
This email processing system works for me – give it a bash and see if it can work for you too!
Monday Morning Perspective: “Everything must be made as simple as possible. But not simpler.” ― Albert Einstein
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