More is NOT Better

I love technology. I have no idea what I would do without my laptop, my cellphone, or my tablet….let alone the Internet! Have you ever looked back and thought to yourself, “How in the world did I ever survive without this??”

As much as I love the conveniences that technology has to offer, I often fail to recognize that as a human being, I can only do so much at one time….EFFECTIVELY! One evening, I caught myself watching TV, sending a text message, checking my email, cooking dinner, and talking to my son – all at the same time.

Of course, I did a horrible job with all of the above.

In most jobs, the ability to multi-task is a requirement. I always have about 6 web browser windows open at one time during my work day, each window having about 5 – 8 different tabs. And yes, I use them all. It takes a lot of discipline and good time-management skills to manage your work tasks effectively, especially when working from home. It’s very easy to burn yourself out trying to do too many things at once. Always focus on one thing at a time and do it well, rather than trying to do five different things at once, and doing a poor job on all of them.

When interacting with customers, it is especially important that you give them your full attention. Absolutely no multi-tasking allowed when responding to a customer’s email and also when you’re on the phone with a customer!

When I was a brand new Customer Service rep, I was responding to a customer’s email and listening to music at the same time. Yes, of course I was singing along! At the end of my email, I realized that I had typed, “Please don’t contact us if we may be of further assistance.” I had intended to type, “Please don’t hesitate to contact us….” Fortunately, I did catch it before hitting “Send,” and corrected the error! Phew! Can you imagine the consequences if I did not correct that mistake?

I used to work at a call center. One day, the call volume was very low so my coworker decided to pick up a magazine and started to read. She was reading an article about some famous Hollywood couple’s divorce or something of that nature. She was so immersed in the article that when her phone rang, she picked it up and while doing her typical “intro,” she said “how may I hurt you,” instead of “how may I help you?” It was a good thing that the person on the other end of the line was a customer that she had spoken with frequently so they both had a good laugh. If it had been an irate customer, the situation could have been a lot worse!

Give yourself a break! Don’t try to do too much at once. Find a good time-management system and to-do list that works for you to help you stay on track. Please feel free to leave your own time-management tips as a comment.

-Char Ferrara