The Library Means Business: Time management tools help avoid stress

Mike DePue is the business librarian at The Library Center.

When office electronics go on the fritz, a call to the service repairperson is made post haste. But what happens when it's you, the employee, who is working a little less efficiently? Many issues factor into low productivity, from poor organization to the kind of snack you buy from the break room vending machine to beat an afternoon slump.

Even the devices meant to make your work life easier, such as multiline phones, e-mail and computers, can lead to frustration and bewilderment. Understanding what triggers fatigue and inefficiency in the workplace can be the most proactive measure to remedy the problem.

Check out these books and access these Web sites from any of the eight branches of the Springfield-Greene County Library to learn how to manage time, enhance organization and de-stress in the process.

Books @ The Library

Technology is supposed to make our lives easier. But all those beeps and buttons can make you confused and crazy. With sound, simple ideas on how to choose the best in technology and use it to make the best of your life, "Get Organized in the Digital Age" by Lucy H. Hedrick shows you how to turn technology into a source of sanity instead of a source of stress.

A high-priority part of getting organized involves your health. "Eating on the Run" by Evelyn Tribole gives tips on making healthy food choices at the grocery store, on the road, at restaurants and at work. There are also tips for vegetarians and vegans. You'll find nutritional data on the Atkins and Zone diets, common snacks, candy bars, supplements, energy bars, airline food and fast food.

The Two-Minute Rule, found in "Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity" by David Allen, categorically states that any truly consequential thing that you can deal with immediately and accomplish in two minutes or less will benefit you tenfold over the long term. Often this will go a long way toward getting projects unstuck. Feeling fine about what you're not doing is an important part of achieving effective productivity and unleashing creative potential.

Pertinent Web sites

www.powerhomebiz.com/vol9/Managingtime.htm

Isolation, overwork and poor time management all breed stress, and sustained stress can result in a work-quality downslide. So take care of your major business asset: you.

www.davidco.com/tips_tools.php

More than two dozen pragmatic efficiency tips. Available in text, printer-friendly text or pdf. This site covers everyday areas such meeting notes, phone logs and record retention.

www.womensbusinesscenter.org/resources/qa/stress.html

Thirty-five ways to spend time properly, plus six ways to wake up your brain. Become a knowledge sponge, take "breakations" and ignore the "boo leaders."