December 23, 2004 (Computerworld) --
I know some people who think that managers don't do any real work; they think managers just make more work for other people. Well, I haven't seen a manager relaxing with her feet up on the desk for some years now. Most of the managers I know are working hard and feeling the stress of time-to-market pressure and tight budgets. But, as managers, there are some things we can do to increase our productivity while lowering stress. I offer five simple (but not always easy) strategies as New Year's resolutions for managers. The good news is you don't have to do all of them. Choose the ones that fit for you. And let me know how it goes. No. 1: Define Daily Goals Many managers leave at the end of the day feeling like they've been running in place -- the to-do list is as long as it was at the start of the day -- maybe even longer. One of the reasons managers feel stressed is that there is no end to the work they can do -- and it's never all done. Counteract the endless to-do list by creating daily goals. Spend 20 minutes each Friday afternoon reviewing your activities and deliverables for the next week. Create a plan for the week and identify what you want to accomplish each day. Leave yourself some slack, because you know something will come up. Cross off the items as you get them done. If you finish before the end of the day, you can declare success or choose to start a task slated for the next day. Either way, you'll leave with a feeling of accomplishment. What if you try this for a while and you never get to the end of your daily list? Maybe you are doing things that don't really need doing. Try Resolution No. 2. No. 2: Undertake a Personal Measurement Program Many people think they know where they spend their time during the workday; most of them are surprised at what the data shows. Make a daily log with half-hour increments. Track your activities for two weeks. The first time I tracked my activities, I realized I was spending an alarming amount of time locating files and papers. Now, I don't really care about organization for the sake of neatness, but I did care about spending my time on high-value activities. I organized my office so I could locate papers and files quickly and spend more time on activities that directly supported my team. Here are some things to notice:
Number of standing meetings and those scheduled far in advance and held at regular intervals
Number of ad hoc meetings and those scheduled a day or less in advance
Number of ad hoc requests (and where they come from)
Number of phone calls received, missed and returned
Number of e-mails received, read to the bottom of and responded to
Time spent one-on-one with members of your team
Number of obstacles removed for your team
Number of issues investigated on behalf of your team
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IDG survey says...that while migration to Windows Vista looms inevitable, the road is fraught with challenges from application compatibility to integration issues to upgrade costs. Fortunately one company is stepping up with solutions and services to help manage Vista in a mixed environment and to automate key aspects of that management chore. 
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