requests self-service. This approach saves time for both the SAs and the customers, and it increases customer satisfaction.

Time management. Another way to make the most of available resources is through the application of various well-known time-management techniques. Time management means using time wisely—working smarter, not harder. The topic of how SAs can better manage their time is a book in itself. 1 Time management can be particularly difficult for SAs because their job is typically interrupt-driven. To be more productive, it is important to break this cycle. You can deflect an interruption by writing the request into your personal to-do list and telling the person that you will get to it later. If you are unable to write it down, then politely ask the person to send you an email message or trouble-ticket request. Make it easier for the person by suggesting the wording that would be most useful to you.

Often the most productive, least interrupted time of day is the first hour in the morning, so don’t waste it reading email. Quickly check the monitoring system for problems, and your email for items tagged “Urgent.” Then edit and prioritize your daily to-do list, rescheduling some items for another day if there is too much. Then schedule your day with a granularity that works for you (for example, in half-hour, one-hour, two-hour, or half-day increments). Daily prioritized to-do lists make the “what next?” decision easier and quicker. Spend the rest of that first hour working on your high-est-priority item. At the end of the day copy the items that remain unfinished on your to-do list to the next day’s list.

Handle each piece of paper or email
once. Don’t even look at something
if you don’t have time to deal with it.
Process each item completely the first
time, rather than sorting into piles
and then having to reread it later. As
you touch each item, examine it and
decide whether you are going to throw
it away without reading it, read it and
throw it away, deal with it and then
throw it away, respond to it and then
throw it away, or file it. Sometimes,
dealing with an item means recording
it in your to-do list. Other times, you
can quickly reply to an email or write
your response in the margin of a paper
document and send it back to the par-
ty who sent it. File as little as possible.
When in doubt, throw it out.
Automate as much of your email
processing as possible. For example,
automate sorting of email into fold-
ers per email list or forum, notifica-
tions from social networking sites,
blog posts, and non-spam coupons,
updates, and special offers from ven-
dors. Then decide how often you want
to scan those folders for items of in-
terest, and even set up automated de-
letions after a certain number of days.
Have folders for storing information
for set periods of time (for example,
one week, one month, two months,
six months, one year) and auto-delete
items older than the specified time.
Keep refining and updating your auto-
mation.
Stay focused. A clean desk, a clean
computer desktop with virtual screens
for each task, and a clean email box re-
duce distractions and help you main-
tain focus. Disabling email alerts
also helps. Schedule time for check-
ing email rather than looking at each
message as it arrives. Merlin Mann,
author of Inbox Zero (http://inboxzero.
com/) has several tips for emptying
your inbox and keeping it that way.