Diversity Woman Magazine

FALL 2015

Leadership and Executive Development for women of all races, cultures and backgrounds

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DW Life > d i v e r s i t y w o m a n . c o m Fa l l 2 0 1 5 D I V E R S I T Y W O M A N 49 Add a friend Social media applications like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram exert a similar pull. As more and more work takes place through e-mails and text messages, these sites can also provide a rare opportunity to connect. "Ten years ago, my phone rang constantly," says Shafer. "Now it rings maybe fve times a day. It's somewhat isolating, and that's why I'm drawn to Facebook. I'm looking for something that will make me smile and feel good." Reexamine your morning routine Many people spend the frst hour of the day responding to text messages, checking e-mail, and getting on Face- book. "Those are not neces- sarily the activities that will provide you with the most value," says Natalie Hous- ton. Instead, she encourages, "Spend the frst hour of your day working on your highest- priority project or your most challenging work. It allows you to get a real jump on the things that matter most, and you get a huge boost from having at least started on that big project." Set a goal Before you go online, set a goal for what you want to do and a time limit for achiev- ing it. You might tell yourself, "I am going to spend the next half hour researching bookkeeping software." Or, "As a reward for fnishing my report, I am going to allow myself 15 minutes on Instagram." To keep yourself honest, Nicole Chamblin recommends setting a timer on your phone or using an app like Eggtimer (eggtimer. com). "You can set it up so that when the time you've specifed is up, it literally interrupts your screen with a pop-up box," she says. Maximize your inbox Managing e-mail can be a job in itself. To streamline the process, Chamblin suggests taking full advantage of the customization options built into e-mail programs such as Gmail and Outlook. Start by turning off the notifcation that sounds when an e-mail arrives in your in-box. "It creates anxiety, and you feel compelled to check e-mail each time you hear that sound," she says. Next, set up rules to help organize and prioritize e-mails you receive on a regular basis. If for exam- ple, you receive weekly sales reports, you can set up a rule that instantly moves e-mails with that subject line into a "sales" folder. To make sure you don't miss important e-mails, assign a specifc color to e-mails from people like your boss or a key client. Surf with intention To keep Internet research from becoming overwhelm- ing, start with a list of clear questions. If you are researching car stereos, for example, questions might include these: Which models have the satellite radio feature I want? Which are the best reviewed? What is the price range? As you follow the links you fnd, refer back to your questions to stay on track. Save useful articles and videos using an app like Evernote (evernote. com) or Pocket (getpocket. com). "Both are great tools for fnding, saving, storing, and organizing the information that you fnd," says Houston. "And you avoid the problem of look- ing up after 20 minutes of research and wondering what you've actually ac- complished." Take an Internet holiday When all else fails, discon- nect for an hour or two. "Tim Armstrong, CEO of AOL, turned the company around by implementing what he called '10 percent think time,'" says Edward Hallowell. "He required his executives to spend 10 percent of their work- week just thinking, with no screens, no meetings, and no interruptions. That alone made a huge difference in the quality of the work they produced." Taming Your Internet Use We asked the experts for some tips on staying focused and productive online. Here is their best advice. Czerwinski believes that interruptions like these can actually be benefcial. In one study of Microsoft workers, she and her colleagues found that the more often people went on social media dur- ing the day, the happier they left work. "When you are stressed or frustrated or under pressure, it's extremely therapeu- tic to self-interrupt and go to social me- dia," she says. But Hallowell cautions that nothing can take the place of human interaction. "Te most powerful antianxiety agent ever invented is a human relationship," he says. "So make time for lunch with a friend or go into someone's ofce and say hello. You don't have to be cheerful. You don't have to be positive and up- beat. You just have to want to genuinely connect." DW Karen Eisenberg is an Oakland, California-based writer who enjoys frequent "Internet holidays."

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