Do you ever feel like you rush from one thing to another throughout your day, yet your to-do list is still long?

We've all been there. The average office worker receives at least 200 messages a day and spend about two and a half hours reading and replying to emails.¹

How is your time spent?

• Helping peers with a system issue or finding something about a carrier?
• Speaking with clients and immediately getting their certificate of coverage?
• Responding to underwriters requesting more information on an account you're working on?

Responsive service is critical to your role, and "interruptions" like these are part of the job.

But you do have the power to change how you deal with those interruptions and ultimately, find more time in your day.

But, how?

Consider trying the "time drain tracker" approach.

Pick a day to log how you are spending your time. Jot down who you talked to, what you did, and for how long. Note if tasks are urgent or non-urgent (done within 24 hours).

Get together with coworkers to discuss your logs. Maybe schedule a working lunch. Brainstorm ways to do common tasks more effectively and cut down on time-consuming tasks.

Some discoveries to increase efficiency may include:

• Grouping similar tasks and working on them in a block
• Scheduling a specific time for certain types of tasks each day. For example, in the morning, you could attack tasks that rely on people getting back to you.
• Compiling carrier service issues, requests, and questions to address in one call
• Scheduling set times to return phone calls
• Always end your day with your list for tomorrow of must-do, should-do and could-do tasks. People that plan usually have the greatest success.
• Schedule meetings in the middle of the week since most service people are usually the busiest on Mondays and Fridays.

You may be surprised how much time you can find in your day with this simple, team approach.