{"id":7587,"date":"2019-10-04T11:00:24","date_gmt":"2019-10-04T15:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/?p=7587"},"modified":"2019-10-09T09:53:33","modified_gmt":"2019-10-09T13:53:33","slug":"5-ways-to-get-more-out-of-each-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/5-ways-to-get-more-out-of-each-day\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways to Get More Out of Each Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You know you have it somewhere: that important receipt; last year\u2019s tax return; the warranty for your washing machine. But where is it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cPeople spend 1.6 hours per week looking for things they can\u2019t find\u2014that\u2019s 75 hours per year,\u201d explains Bary Sherman \u201963. \u201cWhat could you do with another two hours per week? What could you do with another two weeks per year?\u201d These are the kinds of challenges Sherman helps people battle every day as co-CEO of PEPworldwide US, a training and consulting firm specializing in efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In practice, PEP helps corporations streamline their work systems so employees can get the most out of their day. But the goal of PEP\u2014to help people get more of the right work done, in less time and with less stress\u2014is something Sherman valued long before he joined the company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As it turns out, Sherman\u2019s affinity for efficiency began at Monmouth University. He was president of his fraternity, president of the fraternity\/sorority council, and vice president of the student government. He had a full class load. Disorganization wasn\u2019t an option. \u201cHaving all that on my plate meant that time meant something,\u201d says Sherman. \u201cIn order to do my job well, I had to do the things I promised I would do.\u201d This continued to be true during his career as a private entrepreneur and consultant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 1990, Sherman sold his business and started looking for his next chapter. \u201cI read a story in the newspaper about a guy who ran a business based on a personal efficiency program,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI thought, I\u2019ve been doing this all my life but this guy turned it into a business. I wanted in. I wanted to help people.\u201d Today, PEPworldwide operates globally, and Sherman and his wife, Lynn, own the intellectual property in North America. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through seminars and multi-day programs, PEPworldwide helps employees of all kinds streamline their work and keep their promises, whether that means being on time to a meeting, retaining important emails, or meeting deadlines. And the principles they use can work for you, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n

1. Don\u2019t multitask.<\/h3>\n\n\n
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It sounds counterintuitive, but actively trying do more than one thing at a time inhibits focus in the short and long term. \u201cTo stop multitasking, bring a project you\u2019re working on to a stopping point and then move on to your next task,\u201d says Sherman. \u201cDoing one thing at a time allows you to get more things accomplished each day.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n

2. Do the worst thing first.<\/h3>\n\n\n
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\u201cWe all have things we don\u2019t like to do and subconsciously try to avoid them by filling our time with tasks of low or no value,\u201d says Sherman. The result? Wasted time, forgetting to do that thing, and then remembering at the wrong time (like the middle of the night or in the middle of another project).<\/p>\n\n\n

3. Make appointments with yourself and others.<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Set times on your calendar for work events (like meetings) as well as personal events and priorities (like reading, keeping in contact with family and friends, and exercise). Treat these  personal appointments with the same level of respect that you treat appointments with others.<\/p>\n\n\n

4. Use tech wisely.<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Sherman\u2019s top tips? Set electronic systems to open to your calendar, not your email, so you see your priorities first. Use the task or to-do mode for quick reminders. Put all appointments in your electronic calendar, with enough time between them to allow you to get from one place to another on time. <\/p>\n\n\n

5. Practice PEP\u2019s mantra: Do it now!<\/h3>\n\n\n
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When you first look at something new to do,\nmake a decision\u2014either Do It, Designate It, Delegate It, or Delete It. Here\u2019s\nSherman\u2019s guide:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Do It<\/strong>: Anything that takes 5 minutes or less.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
    • Designate It<\/strong>: If you can\u2019t do a task now, make an appointment on your calendar (see #3) to get the job done.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      • Delegate It<\/strong>: Determine who else can do this task and assign it. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
        • Delete It<\/strong>: If you decide that there is no value to you, your family, or your business, then delete it from your schedule.<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Corporate efficiency expert Bary Sherman explains how anyone can carpe diem. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":7659,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"image_focus":"","hide_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-back"],"thumbnail":"\"\"","catString":"The Back","issue":"Fall 2019","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/60"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7587"}],"version-history":[{"count":33,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8222,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7587\/revisions\/8222"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}