Contacting and meeting friends is something we usually relish and look forward to and do on a fairly casual basis. Being "managed" is not an impression we would like to give or receive. On the other hand, dealing with other people and organisations is not all pleasure and often it is something we do only because of its importance or because it is necessary.



Unfortunately we must use the same means (letters, emails, telephone calls etc.) for both. The best approach is to handle all al that we do in a well organised way - so that we can enjoy the pleasurable, but take as little time as possible dealing with the mundane.

The following 5 tips will help you to do so quickly and easily.

1. Decide upon a particular time and day of the week on which you and your spouse or partner will get together to look at all the things you must do and wish to do over the coming week - and to re-scehdule what has not been yet been done. Use this time to finally commit to or re-arrange pencilled in "appointments" in the diary for the next week. This would include organising around things which have already been agreed as firm appointments. You should ensure that everything "fits" together - so that you do not unnecessarily repeat errands and trips etc. In this way you can plan to make the very best of the time ahead. Make sure all commitments are recorded, including work, social, and children's activities.

2. Stop opening the mail when it arrives - if you do that then you have allowed the postman to dictate when you do things, and he will not care how convenient it is! Instead open the post at a time that best fits with what else you are doing that day - and wait until you can open it together with your spouse or partner so that it can be dealt with immediately and not set aside only so the other person can read it. Allow enough time to deal with and respond to the post at that time - and open it with that intention in mind. Open post with the bin or shredder alongside you and dispose of unwanted post straightaway - most of it need not even be opened.

3. As with post, dedicate a certain time and amount of time to deal with emails - and make sure you properly deal with and respond to them at that time. Do not simply open mail because curiosity gets the better of you - this only leads to a cluttered in-box full of opened emails. This requires more discipline than with post as emails can arrive at any time. Do not have your email program open continuously and unless you know you are waiting for an important email, turn the receipt alarm off to avoid the temptation to check emails as they arrive. Review any forums you have joined and any newsletters you receive regularly and unsubcribe when they stop being useful or interesting. Doing this will help to de-clutter your daily time consuming in-box.

4. Use a telephone that shows the time spent on each call and look at it during the call. Some people treat telephone calls in a completely different way to face to face conversations and will talk for much longer. It is of course difficult to bring many kinds of call to an end, and it is sometimes wholly inappropriate to do so. However there are times when telephone calls are intrusive and you should be aware of how long a call is lasting and what else you might be doing.

5. File all documents that you need to keep, but look at infrequently (such as insurance policies, warranties, important receipts, software licenses etc)in a series of labelled ring binders or equivalents. Make sure that you are consistent and file all related correspondence here. Annually review the contents and weed out older documents that have no further use, such as guarantees that have expired, but be careful not to dispose of documents needed to prove continuity, such as some insurance policies. Keep the file safe, but readily accessible for when post arrives or you receive or make telephone calls.