10 Ways to Spend Less Time on the Phone

Bill Lampton, Ph.D.

Picture the last hour of a typical work day. Reviewing the day's activities,
you're shocked to discover how much time you spent on the phone. Even as
you're adding up the number of calls, the phone rings again. By now, you're
not in a receptive frame of mind. "Here goes another twenty or thirty
minutes," you groan. Meanwhile, you can hardly see your desk for the
uncompleted paper work.

During the twenty-three years I spent in management, I struggled to find
ways to reduce the time I talked on the phone. I'm glad to share my ten most
beneficial tips with you.

--One: Budget (yes, budget) your phone time. With six calls to make, allow
yourself no more than thirty minutes to complete all six of them. Obviously,
this constraint will discipline you to get to the point, cover the point and
make an exit.

--Two: As I've just indicated, batch your calls. Instead of scattering them
throughout the day, make your six calls consecutively. You'll shift into a
"telephone mood," comparable to what athletes call "the zone." The second
call becomes easier than the first, the third call even easier. Your
efficiency escalates, and you accomplish more sooner.

--Three: Rely on E-mail more consistently. This is my favorite way to avoid
phone tag. E-mail allows us to send messages at our most convenient time.
Too, we'll probably use fewer words (and time) than we would use by phone.

--Four: Make calls from your cell phone (if you can handle the phone safely
while driving). When you tell someone, "Hi, Ted, I've got a couple of
minutes to chat as I'm driving into downtown Atlanta," you're triggering
them to get to the heart of the call instantly.

--Five: Outline what you intend to cover in your call. The outline keeps you
from rambling, and from having to call again to cover an item you forgot to
mention-embarrassin g as well as time consuming.

Ordinarily, I use a key word outline that resembles a grocery list. For
example, in calling to get details about my next speaking engagement, my
notes might include: time, duration, microphone, handouts, number attending,
introducer, convention theme.

--Six: Ask a colleague to interrupt you "after ten minutes if I haven't hung
up by then." So when the co-worker enters your office you can say quite
honestly, "My assistant has signaled that he needs my attention, so we'll
have to conclude for now."

--Seven: Delegate outgoing calls to others who can make them as well as you
can. With good judgment, we can assign more calls than we are in the habit
of assigning. Remain alert, of course, to identifying those instances when a
personal call from you is irreplaceable.

--Eight: When you're leaving for two hours or two days, give staff members
the information that's necessary to satisfy callers you're expecting. "When
Judy Johnson calls, ask her if we can change her committee meeting from
Wednesday morning to Thursday afternoon." Judy hears what you want her to
hear, and that's one less call for you to return.

--Nine: Call people just before lunch and just before closing time. I
guarantee they won't be longwinded then.

--Ten: Make a summary statement and bid farewell. "Barbara, it's my
understanding that you have given me permission to exceed two or three
budget items as long as I stay within the total departmental budget. Thanks
for the clarification. That's all I needed to know. Thanks and goodbye."

Those are my top ten tips for callers. They work. Use them consistently, and
the phone can become more your ally than your enemy, saving time instead of
stealing time.

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Besok, Anda di-PHK

Kisah yang bagus sekali. Tetapi sesungguhnya hal ini tidak saja "mengancam" keberlangsungan kerja para pegawai profesional, melainkan bisa juga terjadi pada dunia bisnis itu sendiri, termasuk pada diri pebisnisnya.



Sekarang bisnis kelihatan sukses, bisa saja besoknya merugi besar bahkan bisa bangkrut.



Oleh karena itu, memang sebaiknya kita selalu siap dan waspada terhadfap berbagai kemungkinan yang terjadi...khususnya kemungkinan yang bisa berbalik 180 derajat pada diri kita.



Ada pepatah menarik yang selalu saya ingat, yaitu:



KEGAGALAN Adalah Kesuksesan yang Tertunda. Tetapi KESUKSESAN itu juga Kegagalan yang Tertunda.



Pepatah tersebut bisa membuat saya selalu siap dengan segala kemungkinan di amsa depan. APA PUN yang terjadi memang PATUT untuk selalu disyukuri. Dalam hal ini, rasa SYUKUR itu mengandung makna bahwa kita semestinya selalu SIAP menghadapi segala kemungkinan di masa depan.



Orang yang selalu siap bisa dipastikan tidak akan pernah mengeluh apalagi sampai menyesali keadaan yang menimpanya. Orang inilah yang bisa selalu bersyukur terhadap apa pun yang terjadi pada dirinya.



Dan, saya sangat yakin bahwa orang yang selalu bersyukur... PASTI akan memperoleh kebahagiaan dan kesuksesan sejati dalam kehidupannya. Karena ALLAH pun berfirman, bahwa bagi mereka yang bersyukur pasti akan selalu ditambah nikmat-NYA, tapi bagi mereka yang tidak bisa mensyukuri karunia-NYA, maka siksa-NYA sangat pedih.

"Keberhasilan adalah kemampuan melalui kegagalan demi kegagalan tanpa kehilangan semangat untuk terus berjuang."

--Sir Winston Churchill



"Orang-orang yang paling sukses di dunia kita hari ini adalah pria dan wanita yang telah mencurahkan seluruh hati mereka untuk menjadi unggul dalam mengerjakan sesuatu yang mereka sukai, sesuatu yang menurut mereka bisa membuat perbedaan di dunia ini."

--Brian Tracy--