Newsletter of the East Bay Chapter of STC
November/December 2004 | Home
Director’s Report: TRAF Technique
Saves Time
by
Suzanna Laurent
Associate Fellow, Oklahoma Chapter
Former Region 5 Director-Sponsor
Do you measure your success by the time you spend working? If so, you are missing the point. Many people today believe that real success lies in mastering techniques that help them simplify their lives and make their work more efficient so they can spend time doing what they really want to do instead of working overtime!
“You would be amazed by how relaxed some incredibly successful executives are,” says Stephanie Winston. She should know, because she is the original “Organized Executive” and author of a best-selling book and a newsletter by the same name. She coaches senior-level professionals at some of the world’s top companies on how to accomplish more in less time. Her models are executives whose successful careers are matched only by their satisfying personal lives.
Winston’s TRAF Technique has helped many people achieve their goal of simplifying their lives so they can do more of what they want. When you think of how many messages arrive in your mail and computer each day, it can be daunting. The real task is to handle each message quickly and efficiently and that can be accomplished by using the TRAF Technique to make sure each message results in an action.
There are only a few things you can do with a message, regardless of whether it is a piece of paper or an electronic message. One of the best time savers you can learn is to make sure you handle each message the first time you pick it up. Handling it can mean actually taking care of it or making a decision about what needs to be done. According to Winston, you can Toss it, Refer it, Act on it, File it, or lay it aside to read it—such as with a magazine or advertisement. Let’s take a closer look at how this technique can save time if you apply it to your messages in the following order.
Toss It
When I open either regular mail or e-mail messages, I do it with a trash basket close at hand. Once I pick up a message, I don’t lay it down again unless I have made a decision about how to handle it. When I recognize a piece of “junk mail,” I save time by not even opening the envelope. Rarely do I regret throwing something away before I open it. Before you make a decision on whether or not to toss it, you might want to ask yourself, “What is the worst thing that could happen if I throw this out?” If I can’t just “toss” the message, then I consider whether I can refer it to someone else.
Refer It
If possible, delegate the message to someone else. Sending it on to a colleague with greater knowledge or expertise in that area is preferable. I track those more important referrals to follow-up on later by dropping a note into a folder marked with the person’s name to whom I referred the item. If I cannot refer the message to someone else, then I take care of it myself.
Act on It
Place all messages that require an action from you into one or more action folders. If you couldn’t decide what to do with a message, add it to these folders as well. After all, actions include decisions that must be made. Devise a method for pinpointing the top-priority items. I create the folders with “handle by dates” so I don’t miss an important deadline. The last step is to “just do it” because when you let it pile up it takes even longer to catch up.
File It
Once the item has been acted upon, it is time to sort and file it. Mark the messages that can be discarded with a date—three months, six months, or a year. One trick I use for filing is to sort the items into smaller, related stacks as I place them in the “to be filed” stack. I set aside a time once a month to do my filing as well.
As you learn to apply this technique to your incoming messages, you will find this system saves you a lot of time. Time that can be better spent doing other things you want to do!
Resources
Stephanie Winston has authored several books on getting organized:
DMV Home | EBSTC | STC | Contact Us
Transition,
Change, A Rose by Any Other Name... | Psst—Wanna
Know a Secret? | On Becoming a "Senior"
Member Spotlight | Confounding
Compounds | Director's
Report | Editor's Message
| President's Message
Meeting Information | Meeting
Report: Sept | Meeting
Report: Oct | New Members
Networking | Society
News | Employment News |
Book Review
Archives | About
DMV | Letters to the Editor
| Sponsors