What are your best work habits?

[Angharad78]

New job starting in a couple of weeks. Fairly senior comms role in public sector organisation which I’m coming to after selling a business and taking a mat leave.

Big changes and, as I’m preparing to go back, I’m wondering what good habits I can start from Day 1. So, wise Work Mumsnetters, can you share your top tips for being productive?

How do you manage your inbox so it doesn’t drive you mad? How do you take notes in meetings that are actually subsequently useful? I’ll also have two mobile phones so any thoughts on managing that, gratefully received!

Good luck with the new role!!!!

Regarding the inbox one I've thought a lot about this as get in about 120 a day on average and lots of meetings!

I only keep emails in my inbox to action, everything else gets moved into a file folder using a one click action on the top ribbon as soon as I've seen it.

In terms of folders to file into don't have too many. I literally have one for my job and one for hr style stuff. As filing can get ridiculous and eat time. If you only have a couple of folders you can use the shortcut buttons on the top ribbon and set it up so you can click it straight in (I think it's called something like quick actions)

I was worried when I moved to this method of just a couple of big file folders I wouldn't be able to find things but the search is good enough on outlook I've never had a problem.

Learn to say no nicely! (I use Yes, but only if you accept I slow down/ deprioritise X Y Z)

Block out time on the last day of each week to schedule in next week anything you still have to action in your inbox (makes Mondays easier for me)

Take meeting notes in one colour pen then write your actions in another colour. I can then clearly see what I have to action.

Don’t book too much time for meetings. Even 15 mins can be enough time to get agreement on something if you have a clear objective. Be clear on the invite the decision that might need making.

be ruthless with emails you are cc’ed on. Delete. You can always ask the person to resend if you find out later you need something from it. (My company have a habit of cc’ing the world)

I'm on maternity leave . . . But when at work I live by:

• Only to action emails in my inbox . Everything else filed or deleted.
• Always do as much as possible on a Monday, then you've got the wind in your sails for the rest of the week

Meeting notes - I take coloured pens and underline any actions in colour. Sounds childish but it really helps!

Following for other tips!

Oh and phone and instant messenger for quick things rather than email! My team know they get a faster response this way for simpler stuff. My inbox is always creaking.

Take meeting notes in one colour pen then write your actions in another colour. I can then clearly see what I have to action.

Haha I'm not the only one then

So, polite ruthlessness with time and inbox. Trip to the stationary shop before my first day. Excellent, actionable and fun advice. Think the block out end of week tip is excellent. Thank you! Keep it coming!

• File away anything I’m CC’d on and only pay attention to things actually sent to me.
• I use Todoist to keep track of all the millions of tiny things and set myself reminders; you can also set rolling regular tasks
• DND on Teams and “no meetings X afternoon” as a regular thing – block out in your calendar
Echo the 15-minute meeting, it’s a game changer
• A colleague sets up her emails to automatically file into project folders, then she can see at a glance what’s where and where she should turn her attention, without being overwhelmed by an inbox. I find this doesn’t work for me and I need to physically see my inbox and manually file to register that stuff needs my attention – I only file into project folders when it’s done
• Block put a regular lunch break so no one can smother your day with meetings. Step outside, get fresh air, eat and break from work properly: it makes you more efficient and capable in the afternoons than working through and eating al desco. I am ruthless at protecting my break!

I do the email filing and use coloured pens for notes as PP's have mentioned. I also have a Monthly to do list, this works very well for me, things that need to be a ruined sooner are in my inbox or daily/weekly electronic diary. Bigger things, less urgent tasks are put on my monthly to do list and I tick them off when I've auctioned them. These tend to be the tasks that would otherwise get pushed back time and time again and then it's a big haul to catch up. I have a dedicated notebook for this and label the 12months in advance so if I get a task that need to be completed in July I can pop it in and forget about it fir now.

Be kind to others - schedule your meetings to start at ten minutes past the hour and to end at five minutes before the hour. That way people can actually go to the toilet and get a brew, as well as clearing their head. I have one client who works like this and I appreciate it so much - I imagine that the people within their organisation who are going from meeting to meeting all day will appreciate it more.

In your first couple of months though, don't turn down any opportunity to 'meet' people - though suggest a half hour coffee or similar rather than a formal meeting. I think we've all forgotten how important it is to just say hi and get to know people informally, especially in a new place.

completed not ruined!

Definitely manage the inbox as above.
Separate folder for system login details.

I asterisk or draw a box around my meeting actions so they pop out on the page.

If doing minutes on a TEAMS meeting, ask participants if you can record it, the use the transcript for minute writing, means you can focus on the meeting rather than scribbling and missing stuff. Also in teams you can see the actual attendance list if you were the host.

Use outlook to schedule focus time into your calendar for the week ahead.

When you have email attachments to read, turn it into a calendar event to make time to read it.

Default meetings to 50 minutes starting at 5 past the hour. That way you get time for loo and coffee breaks! My current organisation also schedules a 10 minute break in 2hr meetings, which is welcome.

Nice pens and notebooks is a given!

Two screens is a necessity, I think, for having multiple windows open, multitasking on calls etc.

Get a PA. 😁

Can I also add my mum's most useful bit of advice... "gob shut, ears open"...

Find the lay of the land chat wise, don't share too much and listen to find out who are the colleagues to trust and who to avoid like the plague.

Love the email and meeting advice. I always used to book my meetings for 10am, everyone was fairly fresh and brought coffee (and knew they would be done well before lunch).

For emails if it can be dealt with straight away or takes less than 5 mins to reply, action and then file/delete. Everything else gets colour categorised, red urgent, amber important, and green for needs done at some point. I keep emails still in date order but I then focus on clearing red first, then amber and green whenever. Theres a categorize option on outlook and it's one click to add the colour flag.

sound advice from beyond’s mum. There are definitely some tricky relationships to navigate. Reckon I’ll make some friends with the lure of my new pencil case though.

And I had no idea Teams had that functionality Fleece! Really helpful.

I always go by clear inbox, clear mind.
I get anything from 70-300 emails a day and work in a very fast paced role so it's easy to get drowned in work. Prioritise your inbox. If I come in, in the morning, our team say 'swallow your frogs' no idea if that's a known phrase but it basically means deal with the emails you don't want to deal with that you'd originally put off and deal with at the end. Once they're done, prioritise them. Bin / delete any you don't need and flag / put in an action folder and work your way down.

I always make sure I've got an empty inbox when finished the day as I hate going in to 'frogs' the next day.

Learn how to say no politely, but firmly.
Believe in yourself and know that you're bringing yourself and a whole load of knowledge / capabilities to this company.

Good luck in your new role! It's hard going back after mat leave but it's so nice to have some time speaking to adults about adult things.

Also 2 screens is a game changer. Especially if fast paced / multitasking! Try and get a 'nice' keyboard. I know it sounds shallow but typing on a nice keyboard makes me so much happier

And don't get a scratchy mouse. I know this probably sounds so bizarre but a scratchy mouse with hair and crumbs on and a keyboard with a tab missing that rocks is so annoying. And a dirty one. When you turn it on the side and an avalanche of crumbs fall out is never a good start to the day

I set between one and three daily priorities that must be achieved today. I then do these first (although I am in ops and tend to get disturbed throughout the morning, but that can't be helped). I try and schedule meetings for late morning or afternoon when my energy to complete stuff is a bit lower. Then I have a spurt of energy later in the day and schedule further time for my priorities in the late afternoon where I can be more productive as everyone has gone home.

Also coloured pens or a simple A in a circle to identify any quick actions in your notes.

Use email filing systems if you find the volume of emails overwhelming. I have a cc inbox rule so anything to which I am in copy gets filed into a particular inbox which o only look at if I have time. I also have rules so that anything from my boss or one of my two other key team members goes directly into a box with their name so I can pick out and prioritise their messages easily.

I use email subject headers to let the recipient know what I need them to do
REQ, URGENT, FOR ACTION, FYI etc. I am specific with required deadlines for information returns to help other people prioritise. I use the phone to speak to people if I need something quickly or my request is complex.

I block time to work on particular projects and block planning time on a Friday afternoon to sort my priorities for the next week. I have a PA who manages the flow of people on the phone/at my door and sorts diary invites for me.

I have regular catch ups with key people. For me these are finance, HR, project support, planning and performance.

I still feel overwhelmed at times even with the above, and am terrible at taking my lunch breaks but doing all of these gives me a semblance of control.

I agree with previous posters - I have 2 screens and a laptop - makes things so much easier with 3 screens! On teams I've started to use the 'Appear Offline' so it looks like I'm not working. Obviously not all places would allow that, but I have started to do it and no one has said anything yet..... (WFH)

Why do you want to appear offline? If it's so you're not contactable, you can set to Do Not Disturb or Focus Time.