SEATTLE (April 12, 2012) — As people find themselves barraged by a constant flood of demands on their time and attention, RealTime Performance and QuietSpacing offer a practical plan to transform activity into productivity with its latest white paper, “Triaging Priorities.”
The white paper is the latest in a series of “Bite-Sized Booklets” and is co-authored by Paul H. Burton, principal, QuietSpacing, LLC and Sean P. Murray, chief executive officer of RealTime Performance, Inc.
The concept of triage, first used during the Civil War to treat the urgent cases first, can be applied to the non-stop demands of modern business life. People tend to ping-pong back and forth between tasks, e-mails, phone calls and meetings, so that by the end of the day, a great deal of activity has occurred by not necessarily a great deal of productivity.
Murray and Burton recommend that, instead of responding to the most recent demand for one’s time or the demand made in the loudest or most authoritative voice, workers should focus on the demand that is truly the most urgent from a move-the-ball-down-the-field standpoint.
“Triaging Priorities” uses the principles of triage as a tool for managing workflow and offers both time-management and strategic perspectives, including:
– Adjusting expectations regularly;
– refusing to give or accept vague deadlines;
– determining the “why” of the request; and
– learning to say “no” like a front-line doctor.
“Of course the stakes in the day-to-day world of most working professionals aren’t life-and-death,” said Murray, “but we can certainly benefit from applying a more disciplined approach to prioritizing and scheduling incoming work. There is a huge difference between activity and productivity, and effective triaging will decrease the unnecessary activity and increase our productivity.”
“Triaging Priorities” is available now for complimentary download, visit http://www.realtimeperformance.com/about/downloads_triage.html.
About RealTime Performance
Founded in 1999, RealTime Performance delivers online training products to develop company leaders. The products enable companies to cost-effectively assess leadership skills, make targeted recommendations for performance improvement and empower employees to create and share development plans to achieve business goals. The company’s flagship Web-based training product, Inspire, provides a self-directed means for employees to manage their career development, giving them access to knowledge and skills at the “point of need.” For more information, visit http://www.realtimeperformance.com.
Contact:
Sean Murray
206.749.9000 x21
seanm(at)realtimeperformance(dot)com
Adriana Saldana
HRmarketer.com
831.722.9910
asaldana(at)hrmarketer(dot)com
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